Movement of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina L.) from Elephant Is. South Shetlands, Antarctica

• Published in: Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology
• Main Authors: Mônica M. C. Muelbert, Ricardo B. Robaldo, Pablo E. Martínes, Elton P. Colares, Adalto Bianchini, Alberto Setzer
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto de Tecnologia do Paraná (Tecpar) 2004
• Subjects: Mirounga leonina; southern elephant seals; satellite telemetry; Antarctica; at-sea activity; Biotechnology; TP248.13-248.65; Austral; Elefante; Molde; Antarc*; Antártica; Elephant Seal; Elephant Seals; Southern Elephant Seal; Southern Elephant Seals; W. Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1516-89132004000300017; https://doaj.org/article/300a5b1b122d4ed0a5d5de656cc58c0b

In 1999, at-sea activity of two young southern elephant seal males (Mirounga leonina) from Elephant Is. (61º13'S, 55º23'W), Antarctica, was monitored and tracked for 9 months. The individuals were randomly selected, captured, sedated (Zoletil 50®- 1mg/kg), weighed, measured, bled, paint-marked and fitted with satellite tags (STDR - ST-6PPT, Telonics®, USA). Deployment of the STDR took about 45 min since each animal had a lower incisor tooth extracted for age determination. The seals exhibited individual behaviors. Seal "V"-23842 (BM ~ 801kg) moved from Elephant Is. (61.2ºS 55.3ºW) in Jan. 1999 to King George Is. (62.2ºS 58.1ºW) in Feb. 1999 when the tag stopped signaling. Seal "T"-23843 (BM ~ 656 kg) was restricted to the area around Elephant Is. (61.2ºS 54.4ºW - 61.6ºS 55.4ºW) from January to May 1999, when it started to move south-eastwards. Although the age of these individuals was not yet determined it was likely to explain the difference in the two patterns of movement reported here. The temporal and spatial association of these movements with areas of high productivity is being investigated to assess whether the observed distribution reflects foraging activity. O presente estudo descreve os movimentos de dois exemplares de elefante-marinho do sul (Mirounga leonina) durante a fase pelágica de seu ciclo de vida. Os exemplares foram capturados no verão austral de 1999 na Ilha Elefante (61º13'S, 55º23'W), Antártica, e monitorados por aproximadamente 9 meses. Cada exemplar foi instrumentado com um medidor de tempo e profundidade de mergulho via satélite (Sattelite Time Depth Recorder, STDR mod. ST-6PPT, Telonics®, EUA) com uma antena VHF acoplada ao instrumento, montado num molde de tela e resina, fixado com cintas plásticas, e colados na pelagem dorsal do animal com resina plástica. Para a instrumentação o animal era capturado com rede de contenção e imobilizado quimicamente com anestésico dissociativo (Zoletil 50®- 1mg/kg). Um dos indivíduos (23842), deslocou-se da Ilha Elefante (61.2ºS 55.3ºW) até a Ilha Rei ...