Beneath the sea ice : exploring elephant seal foraging strategy in Earth's extreme Antarctic polar environment ...

• Main Author: Labrousse, SA
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Elephant Seal; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23240402.v1; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Beneath_the_sea_ice_exploring_elephant_seal_foraging_strategy_in_Earth_s_extreme_Antarctic_polar_environment/23240402/1

Understanding how physical properties of the environment underpin habitat selection of large marine vertebrates is crucial in identifying how and where animals acquire resources necessary for locomotion, growth and reproduction and ultimately their fitness. The Southern Ocean harbors one of the largest and most dynamic marine ecosystems on our planet which arises from the presence of two majors physical features dominating the ecosystem dynamics, (i) the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and (ii) the seasonal sea ice cover region. In the Antarctic, marine predators are exposed to climate-induced shifts in atmospheric circulation and sea ice. However, because these shifts vary regionally, and because much remains to be understood about how individual animals use their environment, it has been difficult to make predictions on how animals may respond to climate variability. Spatio-temporal variability in ecosystem structure and function are likely to translate into modification of top predator population dynamics, ...