Regional Variation in Winter Foraging Strategies by Weddell Seals in Eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea
The relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic determinants of animal foraging is often difficult to quantify. The most southerly breeding mammal, the Weddell seal, remains in the Antarctic pack-ice year-round. We compared Weddell seals tagged at three geographically and hydrographically distinc...
Published in: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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Language: | English |
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2021
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 https://doaj.org/article/b6e2de081f8442708aaabe8449cb2a6b |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b6e2de081f8442708aaabe8449cb2a6b 2023-05-15T13:46:06+02:00 Regional Variation in Winter Foraging Strategies by Weddell Seals in Eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea Rob Harcourt Mark A. Hindell Clive R. McMahon Kimberly T. Goetz Jean-Benoit Charrassin Karine Heerah Rachel Holser Ian D. Jonsen Michelle R. Shero Xavier Hoenner Rose Foster Baukje Lenting Esther Tarszisz Matthew Harry Pinkerton 2021-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 https://doaj.org/article/b6e2de081f8442708aaabe8449cb2a6b EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 https://doaj.org/article/b6e2de081f8442708aaabe8449cb2a6b Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021) marine protected areas Antarctica marine ecosystems bathymetry ecosystem monitoring Weddell seals Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 2022-12-31T14:32:53Z The relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic determinants of animal foraging is often difficult to quantify. The most southerly breeding mammal, the Weddell seal, remains in the Antarctic pack-ice year-round. We compared Weddell seals tagged at three geographically and hydrographically distinct locations in East Antarctica (Prydz Bay, Terre Adélie, and the Ross Sea) to quantify the role of individual variability and habitat structure in winter foraging behaviour. Most Weddell seals remained in relatively small areas close to the coast throughout the winter, but some dispersed widely. Individual utilisation distributions (UDi, a measure of the total area used by an individual seal) ranged from 125 to 20,825 km2. This variability was not due to size or sex but may be due to other intrinsic states for example reproductive condition or personality. The type of foraging (benthic vs. pelagic) varied from 56.6 ± 14.9% benthic dives in Prydz Bay through 42.1 ± 9.4% Terre Adélie to only 25.1 ± 8.7% in the Ross Sea reflecting regional hydrographic structure. The probability of benthic diving was less likely the deeper the ocean. Ocean topography was also influential at the population level; seals from Terre Adélie, with its relatively narrow continental shelf, had a core (50%) UD of only 200 km2, considerably smaller than the Ross Sea (1650 km2) and Prydz Bay (1700 km2). Sea ice concentration had little influence on the time the seals spent in shallow coastal waters, but in deeper offshore water they used areas of higher ice concentration. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Ross Sea encompass all the observed Weddell seal habitat, and future MPAs that include the Antarctic continental shelf are likely to effectively protect key Weddell seal habitat. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Prydz Bay Ross Sea Sea ice Weddell Seal Weddell Seals Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica Ross Sea Prydz Bay Weddell Terre Adélie ENVELOPE(139.000,139.000,-67.000,-67.000) Terre-Adélie ENVELOPE(138.991,138.991,-59.999,-59.999) Frontiers in Marine Science 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
marine protected areas Antarctica marine ecosystems bathymetry ecosystem monitoring Weddell seals Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
marine protected areas Antarctica marine ecosystems bathymetry ecosystem monitoring Weddell seals Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Rob Harcourt Mark A. Hindell Clive R. McMahon Kimberly T. Goetz Jean-Benoit Charrassin Karine Heerah Rachel Holser Ian D. Jonsen Michelle R. Shero Xavier Hoenner Rose Foster Baukje Lenting Esther Tarszisz Matthew Harry Pinkerton Regional Variation in Winter Foraging Strategies by Weddell Seals in Eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea |
topic_facet |
marine protected areas Antarctica marine ecosystems bathymetry ecosystem monitoring Weddell seals Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
The relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic determinants of animal foraging is often difficult to quantify. The most southerly breeding mammal, the Weddell seal, remains in the Antarctic pack-ice year-round. We compared Weddell seals tagged at three geographically and hydrographically distinct locations in East Antarctica (Prydz Bay, Terre Adélie, and the Ross Sea) to quantify the role of individual variability and habitat structure in winter foraging behaviour. Most Weddell seals remained in relatively small areas close to the coast throughout the winter, but some dispersed widely. Individual utilisation distributions (UDi, a measure of the total area used by an individual seal) ranged from 125 to 20,825 km2. This variability was not due to size or sex but may be due to other intrinsic states for example reproductive condition or personality. The type of foraging (benthic vs. pelagic) varied from 56.6 ± 14.9% benthic dives in Prydz Bay through 42.1 ± 9.4% Terre Adélie to only 25.1 ± 8.7% in the Ross Sea reflecting regional hydrographic structure. The probability of benthic diving was less likely the deeper the ocean. Ocean topography was also influential at the population level; seals from Terre Adélie, with its relatively narrow continental shelf, had a core (50%) UD of only 200 km2, considerably smaller than the Ross Sea (1650 km2) and Prydz Bay (1700 km2). Sea ice concentration had little influence on the time the seals spent in shallow coastal waters, but in deeper offshore water they used areas of higher ice concentration. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Ross Sea encompass all the observed Weddell seal habitat, and future MPAs that include the Antarctic continental shelf are likely to effectively protect key Weddell seal habitat. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rob Harcourt Mark A. Hindell Clive R. McMahon Kimberly T. Goetz Jean-Benoit Charrassin Karine Heerah Rachel Holser Ian D. Jonsen Michelle R. Shero Xavier Hoenner Rose Foster Baukje Lenting Esther Tarszisz Matthew Harry Pinkerton |
author_facet |
Rob Harcourt Mark A. Hindell Clive R. McMahon Kimberly T. Goetz Jean-Benoit Charrassin Karine Heerah Rachel Holser Ian D. Jonsen Michelle R. Shero Xavier Hoenner Rose Foster Baukje Lenting Esther Tarszisz Matthew Harry Pinkerton |
author_sort |
Rob Harcourt |
title |
Regional Variation in Winter Foraging Strategies by Weddell Seals in Eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea |
title_short |
Regional Variation in Winter Foraging Strategies by Weddell Seals in Eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea |
title_full |
Regional Variation in Winter Foraging Strategies by Weddell Seals in Eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea |
title_fullStr |
Regional Variation in Winter Foraging Strategies by Weddell Seals in Eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Regional Variation in Winter Foraging Strategies by Weddell Seals in Eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea |
title_sort |
regional variation in winter foraging strategies by weddell seals in eastern antarctica and the ross sea |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 https://doaj.org/article/b6e2de081f8442708aaabe8449cb2a6b |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(139.000,139.000,-67.000,-67.000) ENVELOPE(138.991,138.991,-59.999,-59.999) |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica Ross Sea Prydz Bay Weddell Terre Adélie Terre-Adélie |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic East Antarctica Ross Sea Prydz Bay Weddell Terre Adélie Terre-Adélie |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Prydz Bay Ross Sea Sea ice Weddell Seal Weddell Seals |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Prydz Bay Ross Sea Sea ice Weddell Seal Weddell Seals |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 https://doaj.org/article/b6e2de081f8442708aaabe8449cb2a6b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
8 |
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1766236972718751744 |