Preferred, small-scale foraging areas of two Southern Ocean fur seal species are not determined by habitat characteristics
Abstract Background To understand and predict the distribution of foragers, it is crucial to identify the factors that affect individual movement decisions at different scales. Individuals are expected to adjust their foraging movements to the hierarchical spatial distribution of resources. At a sma...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b0795e83a8b64e59afebd52eca33f9fb 2023-05-15T14:00:23+02:00 Preferred, small-scale foraging areas of two Southern Ocean fur seal species are not determined by habitat characteristics Mia Wege P. J. Nico de Bruyn Mark A. Hindell Mary-Anne Lea Marthán N. Bester 2019-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-019-0252-x https://doaj.org/article/b0795e83a8b64e59afebd52eca33f9fb EN eng BMC http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12898-019-0252-x https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6785 doi:10.1186/s12898-019-0252-x 1472-6785 https://doaj.org/article/b0795e83a8b64e59afebd52eca33f9fb BMC Ecology, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2019) Arctocephalus Boosted regression tree Foraging behaviour Foraging segregation Machine learning Marion Island Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-019-0252-x 2022-12-31T06:01:06Z Abstract Background To understand and predict the distribution of foragers, it is crucial to identify the factors that affect individual movement decisions at different scales. Individuals are expected to adjust their foraging movements to the hierarchical spatial distribution of resources. At a small local scale, spatial segregation in foraging habitat happens among individuals of closely situated colonies. If foraging segregation is due to differences in distribution of resources, we would expect segregated foraging areas to have divergent habitat characteristics. Results We investigated how environmental characteristics of preferred foraging areas differ between two closely situated Subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) colonies and a single Antarctic fur seal (A. gazella) colony that forage in different pelagic areas even though they are located well within each other’s foraging range. We further investigated the influence of the seasonal cycle on those environmental factors. This study used tracking data from 121 adult female Subantarctic and Antarctic fur seals, collected during summer and winter (2009–2015), from three different colonies. Boosted Regression Tree species distribution models were used to determine key environmental variables associated with areas of fur seal restricted search behaviour. There were no differences in the relative influence of key environmental variables between colonies and seasons. The variables with the most influence for each colony and season were latitude, longitude and magnitude of sea-currents. The influence of latitude and longitude is a by-product of the species’ distinct foraging areas, despite the close proximity (< 25 km) of the colonies. The predicted potential foraging areas for each colony changed from summer to winter, reflecting the seasonal cycle of the Southern Ocean. The model predicted that the potential foraging areas of females from the three colonies should overlap, and the fact they do not in reality indicates that factors other than ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seal Antarctic Fur Seals Marion Island Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean BMC Ecology 19 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctocephalus Boosted regression tree Foraging behaviour Foraging segregation Machine learning Marion Island Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Arctocephalus Boosted regression tree Foraging behaviour Foraging segregation Machine learning Marion Island Ecology QH540-549.5 Mia Wege P. J. Nico de Bruyn Mark A. Hindell Mary-Anne Lea Marthán N. Bester Preferred, small-scale foraging areas of two Southern Ocean fur seal species are not determined by habitat characteristics |
topic_facet |
Arctocephalus Boosted regression tree Foraging behaviour Foraging segregation Machine learning Marion Island Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Background To understand and predict the distribution of foragers, it is crucial to identify the factors that affect individual movement decisions at different scales. Individuals are expected to adjust their foraging movements to the hierarchical spatial distribution of resources. At a small local scale, spatial segregation in foraging habitat happens among individuals of closely situated colonies. If foraging segregation is due to differences in distribution of resources, we would expect segregated foraging areas to have divergent habitat characteristics. Results We investigated how environmental characteristics of preferred foraging areas differ between two closely situated Subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) colonies and a single Antarctic fur seal (A. gazella) colony that forage in different pelagic areas even though they are located well within each other’s foraging range. We further investigated the influence of the seasonal cycle on those environmental factors. This study used tracking data from 121 adult female Subantarctic and Antarctic fur seals, collected during summer and winter (2009–2015), from three different colonies. Boosted Regression Tree species distribution models were used to determine key environmental variables associated with areas of fur seal restricted search behaviour. There were no differences in the relative influence of key environmental variables between colonies and seasons. The variables with the most influence for each colony and season were latitude, longitude and magnitude of sea-currents. The influence of latitude and longitude is a by-product of the species’ distinct foraging areas, despite the close proximity (< 25 km) of the colonies. The predicted potential foraging areas for each colony changed from summer to winter, reflecting the seasonal cycle of the Southern Ocean. The model predicted that the potential foraging areas of females from the three colonies should overlap, and the fact they do not in reality indicates that factors other than ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mia Wege P. J. Nico de Bruyn Mark A. Hindell Mary-Anne Lea Marthán N. Bester |
author_facet |
Mia Wege P. J. Nico de Bruyn Mark A. Hindell Mary-Anne Lea Marthán N. Bester |
author_sort |
Mia Wege |
title |
Preferred, small-scale foraging areas of two Southern Ocean fur seal species are not determined by habitat characteristics |
title_short |
Preferred, small-scale foraging areas of two Southern Ocean fur seal species are not determined by habitat characteristics |
title_full |
Preferred, small-scale foraging areas of two Southern Ocean fur seal species are not determined by habitat characteristics |
title_fullStr |
Preferred, small-scale foraging areas of two Southern Ocean fur seal species are not determined by habitat characteristics |
title_full_unstemmed |
Preferred, small-scale foraging areas of two Southern Ocean fur seal species are not determined by habitat characteristics |
title_sort |
preferred, small-scale foraging areas of two southern ocean fur seal species are not determined by habitat characteristics |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-019-0252-x https://doaj.org/article/b0795e83a8b64e59afebd52eca33f9fb |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seal Antarctic Fur Seals Marion Island Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seal Antarctic Fur Seals Marion Island Southern Ocean |
op_source |
BMC Ecology, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12898-019-0252-x https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6785 doi:10.1186/s12898-019-0252-x 1472-6785 https://doaj.org/article/b0795e83a8b64e59afebd52eca33f9fb |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-019-0252-x |
container_title |
BMC Ecology |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766269474927804416 |