Coastal polynyas: Winter oases for subadult southern elephant seals in East Antarctica

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Labrousse, Sara, Williams, Guy Darvall, Tamura, Takeshi, Bestley, Sophie, Sallée, Jean-Baptiste, Fraser, Alexander D., Sumner, Michael, Roquet, Fabien, Heerah, Karine, Picard, Baptiste, Guinet, Christophe, Harcourt, Robert G., Mcmahon, Clive R., Hindell, Mark A., Charrassin, Jean-Benoit
• Other Authors: Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Hobart (IMAS), University of Tasmania Hobart, Australia (UTAS), Processus de couplage à Petite Echelle, Ecosystèmes et Prédateurs Supérieurs (PEPS), Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Antarctic Climate & Ecosystem Cooperative Research Centre, National Institute of Polar Research Tokyo (NiPR), Graduate University for Advanced Studies Hayama (SOKENDAI), Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy, British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Institute of Low Temperature Science Sapporo, Hokkaido University Sapporo, Japan, Department of Meteorology Sweden, Stockholm University, Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Macquarie University, University of Sydney Institute of Marine Science (USIMS), The University of Sydney, project IPEV #109, CNES-TOSCA project (“Éléphants de mer océanographes”), the Australia Research Council Super Science Initiative (Project FS110200057), Future Fellowship Program (Project FT130100692), European Project: 637770,H2020,ERC-2014-STG,WAPITI(2015)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: Ecosystem ecology; Animal behaviour; Behavioural ecology; Animal migration; Marine biology; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctica; East Antarctica; Elephant Seals; Sea ice; Southern Elephant Seals
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01720675; https://hal.science/hal-01720675/document; https://hal.science/hal-01720675/file/s41598-018-21388-9.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-21388-9

International audience Antarctic coastal polynyas are regions of persistent open water and are thought to be key bio-physical features within the sea-ice zone. However, their use by the upper trophic levels of ecosystems remains unclear. A unique bio-physical dataset recorded by southern elephant seals reveals that East Antarctic polynyas are a key winter foraging habitat for male seals. During their post-moult trips from Isles Kerguelen to the Antarctic continental shelf, a total of 18 out of 23 seals visited 9 different polynyas, spending on average 25 ± 20% (up to 75%) of their total trip time inside polynyas. Changes in seal foraging and diving behaviours are observed inside polynyas as compared to outside polynyas. Two polynya usages by seals are observed for the inactive and active polynya phases, pointing to different seasonal peaks in prey abundance. During the active polynya phase, we link seal foraging behaviour to changes in the physical stability of the water-column, which likely impact the seasonal biological dynamics within polynyas.