On- and off-shelf diving effort of juvenile elephant seals from Peninsula Valdes determined by light loggers
The shallow Patagonian Shelf off Península Valdés limits the dive depth of southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina ) to <100 m, an unusual circumstance for this deep-diving species. Beyond the shelf water depths of ∾1,000 m enable the seals to forage deeper and use the entire water column. We...
| Published in: | Journal of Mammalogy |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2011
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://jmammal.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/92/4/811 https://doi.org/10.1644/10-MAMM-A-292.1 |
| Summary: | The shallow Patagonian Shelf off Península Valdés limits the dive depth of southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina ) to <100 m, an unusual circumstance for this deep-diving species. Beyond the shelf water depths of ∾1,000 m enable the seals to forage deeper and use the entire water column. We compared the diving pattern of 10 juveniles instrumented with light-temperature loggers to determine if diving effort, measured as dive durations longer than the estimated aerobic dive limit, differed between on-shelf and off-shelf waters. The productive Patagonian Shelf, an environment where juveniles showed lower diving effort, also was used commonly by older seals, which likely displaced juveniles off-shelf periodically, where they exhibited increased diving effort. |
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