Data from: Mesoscale activity facilitates energy gain in a top predator ...
How animal movement decisions interact with the distribution of resources to shape individual performance is a key question in ecology. However, links between spatial and behavioural ecology and fitness consequences are poorly understood because the outcomes of individual resource selection decision...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Dataset |
| Language: | English |
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Dryad
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2v10hs6 https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.2v10hs6 |
| Summary: | How animal movement decisions interact with the distribution of resources to shape individual performance is a key question in ecology. However, links between spatial and behavioural ecology and fitness consequences are poorly understood because the outcomes of individual resource selection decisions, such as energy intake, are rarely measured. In the open ocean, mesoscale features (~10-100 km) such as fronts and eddies can aggregate prey and thereby drive the distribution of foraging vertebrates through bottom-up biophysical coupling. These productive features are known to attract predators, yet their role in facilitating energy transfer to top predators is opaque. We investigated the use of mesoscale features by migrating northern elephant seals and quantified the corresponding energetic gains from the seals’ foraging patterns at a daily resolution. Migrating elephant seals modified their diving behaviour and selected for mesoscale features when foraging. Daily energy gain increased significantly with ... : Northern Elephant Seal Lipid EstimatesThis file contains daily lipid estimates for 29 adult female northern elephant seals. Lipid estimates are derived from a state space model detailed in Schick et al. 2013, Journal of Animal Ecology.Dryad_Lipid_Data.csv ... |
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