Aspects of the ecology of Weddell seals Leptonychotes weddellii along the Mawson Coastline, East Antarctica ...

• Main Author: Pike, RJ
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Auster; Auster Islands; East Antarctica; Fold Island; Kemp Land; MacRobertson Land; Mawson Coast; Weddell; Antarc*; Antarctica; Weddell Seals
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23243396; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Aspects_of_the_ecology_of_Weddell_seals_Leptonychotes_weddellii_along_the_Mawson_Coastline_East_Antarctica/23243396

This study investigated the diet and patterns in occurrence of haul-out sites of Weddell seals along the Mawson coast of East Antarctica. Seats of Weddell seals (n = 303) were collected from 139 seal haul-out sites along 250 km of coast between Fold Island (Kemp Land coast - 66.83°S, 58.79°E) and Auster Islands (MacRobertson Land coast - 67°25'S, 63°50'E) during 1998 to 2000. Identification of species-specific hard parts from the seats found eighteen species of fish, two species of octopod, two species of squid, and four species of crustaceans. Randomisation analyses were used to determine associations between abundance of primary prey species and year, season, geographic location and water depth at the sample collection site. No significant interannual variation was found, but the diet varied seasonally, as the squid Psychroteuthis glacialis featured more in the diet in the early summer months compared to winter. Larger beaks of this squid were found in seats collected from ice over deeper ...