Data from: Modelling the functional link between movement, feeding activity and condition in a marine predator ...

• Main Authors: Pirotta, Enrico, Schwarz, Lisa K., Costa, Daniel P., Robinson, Patrick W., New, Leslie
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2018
• Subjects: satellite tracking; Mirounga angustirostris; Bayesian state-space modelling; Elephant seals; body condition; Elephant Seals
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.r1t6fj5; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.r1t6fj5

The ability to quantify animals’ feeding activity and the resulting changes in their body condition as they move in the environment is fundamental to our understanding of a population’s ecology. We use satellite tracking data from northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris), paired with simultaneous diving information, to develop a Bayesian state-space model that concurrently estimates an individual’s location, feeding activity, and changes in condition. The model identifies important foraging areas and times, the relative amount of feeding occurring therein and thus the different behavioral strategies in which the seals engage. The fitness implications of these strategies can be assessed by looking at the resulting variation in individuals’ condition, which in turn affects the condition and survival of their offspring. Therefore, our results shed light on the processes affecting an individual’s decision-making as it moves and feeds in the environment. In addition, we demonstrate how the model can be ... : ARGOS_LocationDataThe file contains ARGOS satellite telemetry locations for the 26 elephant seals included in the analysis. Each location is associated with an ARGOS location class (lc).Fat mass estimatesThe file contains the estimates (mean and standard deviation) of fat mass at departure from and arrival to the colony for each individual included in the analysis.Depart_Arrive_FatMass_measurements.csvDiving data and lean massThe file contains the diving data for each individual on each day of the foraging trip: median time spent at the bottom during a dive (Bottom_time), median dive duration (Dive_duration), median descent rate (Descent_rate), median ascent rate (Ascent_rate), total number of dives per day (N_dives), number of drift dives per day (N_Drift_dives) and daily median drift rate (Drift_rate). The lean mass on each day for the two assumed functional forms (Lean_mass_1 and Lean_mass_2) and a variable indicating whether the median drift rate on that day was positive or negative (Indicator) are also ...