Coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for Weddell Seals in the Ross Sea
Extraction of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) in the Ross Sea began in 1997, following a management plan that targets the largest fish with a goal of reducing the spawning biomass by 50% over 35 yr. We investigate the potential long-term consequences of the reduced availability of this pr...
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ftmontanastateu:oai:scholarworks.montana.edu:1/12821 2023-05-15T13:55:57+02:00 Coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for Weddell Seals in the Ross Sea Leo, Salas Nur, Nadav Ainley, David Burns, Jennifer Rotella, Jay J. Ballard, Grant 2017-01 application/pdf https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/12821 en_US eng Salas, Leo, Nadav Nur, David Ainley, Jennifer Burns, Jay Rotella, and Grant Ballard. "Coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for Weddell Seals in the Ross Sea." Ecological Applications 27, no. 1 (January 2017): 10-25. DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eap.1435. 1051-0761 https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/12821 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode CC-BY Article 2017 ftmontanastateu https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1435 2022-06-06T07:24:29Z Extraction of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) in the Ross Sea began in 1997, following a management plan that targets the largest fish with a goal of reducing the spawning biomass by 50% over 35 yr. We investigate the potential long-term consequences of the reduced availability of this prey for Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii). Energy -demands in seals are acute, especially immediately following lactation, when females must -recover substantial mass and cope with molting costs. We tested the hypothesis that toothfish are critically important for adult female seals during this period. Toothfish body mass is three orders of magnitude greater, and its energy density nearly double that of the most common seal prey, Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum). Reduction or elimination of toothfish consumption could impair a female's ability to sufficiently recover and successfully produce a pup in the following pupping season. Our goals are to (1) illustrate mechanisms and conditions whereby toothfish depletion might plausibly affect seal population trends; (2) identify measurable parameters of the seals' ecology that may help better understand the potential negative impact of toothfish depletion on seal populations; and (3) promote a precautionary management approach for the fishery that includes monitoring of seal populations We constructed a set of inter-linked models of seal diving behavior, physiological condition, and demography based on existing information. We evaluate the effect of the following factors on seal mass recovery and intrinsic population growth rates: fishery depletion rate, daily diving limits, probability of a successful dive, and body mass recovery target. We show that loss of toothfish has the greatest potential impact on seal populations' growth rate. Under some scenarios, populations may decrease at > 10% per year. Critical parameters to better understand fishery impacts include prevalence and size of toothfish in the seals' diet; the relationship between diet and ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic silverfish Antarctic Toothfish common seal Ross Sea Weddell Seals Montana State University (MSU): ScholarWorks Antarctic Ross Sea Weddell Ecological Applications 27 1 10 25 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Montana State University (MSU): ScholarWorks |
op_collection_id |
ftmontanastateu |
language |
English |
description |
Extraction of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) in the Ross Sea began in 1997, following a management plan that targets the largest fish with a goal of reducing the spawning biomass by 50% over 35 yr. We investigate the potential long-term consequences of the reduced availability of this prey for Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii). Energy -demands in seals are acute, especially immediately following lactation, when females must -recover substantial mass and cope with molting costs. We tested the hypothesis that toothfish are critically important for adult female seals during this period. Toothfish body mass is three orders of magnitude greater, and its energy density nearly double that of the most common seal prey, Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum). Reduction or elimination of toothfish consumption could impair a female's ability to sufficiently recover and successfully produce a pup in the following pupping season. Our goals are to (1) illustrate mechanisms and conditions whereby toothfish depletion might plausibly affect seal population trends; (2) identify measurable parameters of the seals' ecology that may help better understand the potential negative impact of toothfish depletion on seal populations; and (3) promote a precautionary management approach for the fishery that includes monitoring of seal populations We constructed a set of inter-linked models of seal diving behavior, physiological condition, and demography based on existing information. We evaluate the effect of the following factors on seal mass recovery and intrinsic population growth rates: fishery depletion rate, daily diving limits, probability of a successful dive, and body mass recovery target. We show that loss of toothfish has the greatest potential impact on seal populations' growth rate. Under some scenarios, populations may decrease at > 10% per year. Critical parameters to better understand fishery impacts include prevalence and size of toothfish in the seals' diet; the relationship between diet and ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Leo, Salas Nur, Nadav Ainley, David Burns, Jennifer Rotella, Jay J. Ballard, Grant |
spellingShingle |
Leo, Salas Nur, Nadav Ainley, David Burns, Jennifer Rotella, Jay J. Ballard, Grant Coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for Weddell Seals in the Ross Sea |
author_facet |
Leo, Salas Nur, Nadav Ainley, David Burns, Jennifer Rotella, Jay J. Ballard, Grant |
author_sort |
Leo, Salas |
title |
Coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for Weddell Seals in the Ross Sea |
title_short |
Coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for Weddell Seals in the Ross Sea |
title_full |
Coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for Weddell Seals in the Ross Sea |
title_fullStr |
Coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for Weddell Seals in the Ross Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for Weddell Seals in the Ross Sea |
title_sort |
coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for weddell seals in the ross sea |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/12821 |
geographic |
Antarctic Ross Sea Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Ross Sea Weddell |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic silverfish Antarctic Toothfish common seal Ross Sea Weddell Seals |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic silverfish Antarctic Toothfish common seal Ross Sea Weddell Seals |
op_relation |
Salas, Leo, Nadav Nur, David Ainley, Jennifer Burns, Jay Rotella, and Grant Ballard. "Coping with the loss of large, energy-dense prey: a potential bottleneck for Weddell Seals in the Ross Sea." Ecological Applications 27, no. 1 (January 2017): 10-25. DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eap.1435. 1051-0761 https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/12821 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1435 |
container_title |
Ecological Applications |
container_volume |
27 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
10 |
op_container_end_page |
25 |
_version_ |
1766262947462512640 |