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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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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2021
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Online Access: | https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/e84fa205-6693-4fba-baaf-050222e67faf https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 https://research-management.mq.edu.au/ws/files/178457419/178363992.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116745660&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftmacquarieunicr:oai:https://researchers.mq.edu.au:publications/e84fa205-6693-4fba-baaf-050222e67faf 2024-10-13T14:02:10+00:00 Regional variation in winter foraging strategies by Weddell seals in eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea Harcourt, Rob Hindell, Mark A. McMahon, Clive R. Goetz, Kimberly T. Charrassin, Jean-Benoit Heerah, Karine Holser, Rachel Jonsen, Ian D. Shero, Michelle R. Hoenner, Xavier Foster, Rose Lenting, Baukje Tarszisz, Esther Pinkerton, Matthew Harry 2021-09 application/pdf https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/e84fa205-6693-4fba-baaf-050222e67faf https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 https://research-management.mq.edu.au/ws/files/178457419/178363992.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116745660&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Harcourt , R , Hindell , M A , McMahon , C R , Goetz , K T , Charrassin , J-B , Heerah , K , Holser , R , Jonsen , I D , Shero , M R , Hoenner , X , Foster , R , Lenting , B , Tarszisz , E & Pinkerton , M H 2021 , ' Regional variation in winter foraging strategies by Weddell seals in eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea ' , Frontiers in Marine Science , vol. 8 , 720335 , pp. 1-13 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 marine protected areas Antarctica marine ecosystems bathymetry ecosystem monitoring Weddell seals article 2021 ftmacquarieunicr https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 2024-10-03T00:23:12Z 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 km 2 . 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 km 2 , considerably smaller than the Ross Sea (1650 km 2 ) and Prydz Bay (1700 km 2 ). 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 Macquarie University Research Portal Antarctic East Antarctica Prydz Bay Ross Sea Terre Adélie ENVELOPE(139.000,139.000,-67.000,-67.000) Terre-Adélie ENVELOPE(138.991,138.991,-59.999,-59.999) The Antarctic Weddell Frontiers in Marine Science 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Macquarie University Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftmacquarieunicr |
language |
English |
topic |
marine protected areas Antarctica marine ecosystems bathymetry ecosystem monitoring Weddell seals |
spellingShingle |
marine protected areas Antarctica marine ecosystems bathymetry ecosystem monitoring Weddell seals Harcourt, Rob Hindell, Mark A. McMahon, Clive R. Goetz, Kimberly T. Charrassin, Jean-Benoit Heerah, Karine Holser, Rachel Jonsen, Ian D. Shero, Michelle R. Hoenner, Xavier Foster, Rose Lenting, Baukje Tarszisz, Esther Pinkerton, Matthew Harry 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 |
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 km 2 . 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 km 2 , considerably smaller than the Ross Sea (1650 km 2 ) and Prydz Bay (1700 km 2 ). 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 |
Harcourt, Rob Hindell, Mark A. McMahon, Clive R. Goetz, Kimberly T. Charrassin, Jean-Benoit Heerah, Karine Holser, Rachel Jonsen, Ian D. Shero, Michelle R. Hoenner, Xavier Foster, Rose Lenting, Baukje Tarszisz, Esther Pinkerton, Matthew Harry |
author_facet |
Harcourt, Rob Hindell, Mark A. McMahon, Clive R. Goetz, Kimberly T. Charrassin, Jean-Benoit Heerah, Karine Holser, Rachel Jonsen, Ian D. Shero, Michelle R. Hoenner, Xavier Foster, Rose Lenting, Baukje Tarszisz, Esther Pinkerton, Matthew Harry |
author_sort |
Harcourt, Rob |
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 |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/e84fa205-6693-4fba-baaf-050222e67faf https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 https://research-management.mq.edu.au/ws/files/178457419/178363992.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116745660&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(139.000,139.000,-67.000,-67.000) ENVELOPE(138.991,138.991,-59.999,-59.999) |
geographic |
Antarctic East Antarctica Prydz Bay Ross Sea Terre Adélie Terre-Adélie The Antarctic Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic East Antarctica Prydz Bay Ross Sea Terre Adélie Terre-Adélie The Antarctic Weddell |
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 |
Harcourt , R , Hindell , M A , McMahon , C R , Goetz , K T , Charrassin , J-B , Heerah , K , Holser , R , Jonsen , I D , Shero , M R , Hoenner , X , Foster , R , Lenting , B , Tarszisz , E & Pinkerton , M H 2021 , ' Regional variation in winter foraging strategies by Weddell seals in eastern Antarctica and the Ross Sea ' , Frontiers in Marine Science , vol. 8 , 720335 , pp. 1-13 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.720335 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
8 |
_version_ |
1812815311186952192 |