Meteorological factors affecting the number of Weddell seals hauling-out on the ice during the molting season at Syowa Station, East Antarctica
Weddell seals show a clear diurnal haul-out pattern, while there have been few studies focusing on the influence of weather conditions. The present study investigates the relationship between the number of seals which haul-out on the fast ice and meteorological factors such as: air temperature, wind...
Main Authors: | , , , |
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Format: | Report |
Language: | English |
Published: |
National Institute of Polar Research/Shimoda Marine Research Center, Tsukuba University/National Institute of Polar Research/National Institute of Polar Research
2003
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=6203 http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00006203/ https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=6203&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1 |
Summary: | Weddell seals show a clear diurnal haul-out pattern, while there have been few studies focusing on the influence of weather conditions. The present study investigates the relationship between the number of seals which haul-out on the fast ice and meteorological factors such as: air temperature, wind speed, humidity and irradiance in Syowa Station, East Antarctica. The number of seals was inversely related to wind speed (P < 0.001), and positively related to air temperature (P < 0.05), suggesting that seals may enter the water to avoid excessive heat loss when the weather condition was severe. The number of seals varied greatly on calm days (wind speed < 5.3 m/s and air temperature > -8.3 °C), indicating that some other factors might influence the seal's decision to stay in the water. |
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