Data from: Reproductive success is energetically linked to foraging efficiency in Antarctic fur seals ...

• Main Authors: Jeanniard-Du-Dot, Tiphaine, Trites, Andrew W., Arnould, John P.Y., Guinet, Christophe, Arnould, John P. Y.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2018
• Subjects: foraging efficiency; 2012; Arctocephalus gazella; Antarctic; Kerguelen; Kerguelen Island; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Antarctic Fur Seal; Antarctic Fur Seals
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.269qr; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.269qr

The efficiency with which individuals extract energy from their environment defines their survival and reproductive success, and thus their selective contribution to the population. Individuals that forage more efficiently (i.e., when energy gained exceeds energy expended) are likely to be more successful at raising viable offspring than individuals that forage less efficiently. Our goal was to test this prediction in large long-lived mammals under free-ranging conditions. To do so, we equipped 20 lactating Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) breeding on the Kerguelen Island in the Southern Ocean with tags that recorded GPS locations, depth and tri-axial acceleration to determine at-sea behaviours and detailed time-activity budgets during their foraging trips. We also simultaneously measured energy spent at sea using the doubly-labeled water (DLW) method, and estimated the energy acquired while foraging from 1) type and energy content of prey species present in scat remains, and 2) numbers of prey ... : AFS females dataData collected on Antarctic fur seal colony on Kerguelen Island during the breeding season in 2012. Only females were selected. capt = capture date, massrecap = mass at recapture, lengthrecap = length at recapture, girthrecap = girth at recapture, departure= date of departure at sea, return = date of return to colony, minatsea = foraging trip duration in min, DEEkJd = Daily energy expenditure at sea in kJ/d, pup = ID of the female associated pup, Psex = sex of the pup associated with the tracked female, timeonland = time females spent on land between capture and departure at sea and between return and recapture, PCA = number of Prey Capture Attempts during foraging trip,Scat analyses dataScats were collected on the fur seal colony and were analysed for hard part remains. KFS1201 to KFS1214 indicate number of individual scats.AFSDietScats2012.xlsxAntarctic fur seal Pup dataMorphometric data collected on Antarctic fur seal pups on Kerguelen island during the breeding period in 2012. Tag# = ID ...