Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator†
Extreme events have been suggested to play a disproportionate role in shaping ecological processes, but our understanding of the types of environmental conditions that elicit extreme consequences in natural ecosystems is limited. Here, we investigated the impact of a massive iceberg on the dynamics...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:3479728 2023-05-15T14:02:38+02:00 Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator† Chambert, Thierry Rotella, Jay J. Garrott, Robert A. 2012-11-22 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3479728 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23015628 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 en eng The Royal Society http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3479728 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23015628 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 This journal is © 2012 The Royal Society Research Articles Text 2012 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 2013-11-24T01:23:19Z Extreme events have been suggested to play a disproportionate role in shaping ecological processes, but our understanding of the types of environmental conditions that elicit extreme consequences in natural ecosystems is limited. Here, we investigated the impact of a massive iceberg on the dynamics of a population of Weddell seals. Reproductive rates of females were reduced, but survival appeared unaffected. We also found suggestive evidence for a prolonged shift towards higher variability in reproductive rates. The annual number of females attending colonies showed unusual swings during the iceberg period, a pattern that was apparently the consequence of changes in sea-ice conditions. In contrast to the dramatic effects that were recorded in nearby populations of emperor penguins, our results suggest that this unusual environmental event did not have an extreme impact on the population of seals in the short-term, as they managed to avoid survival costs and were able to rapidly re-achieve high levels of reproduction by the end of the perturbation. Nevertheless, population projections suggest that even this modest impact on reproductive rates could negatively affect the population in the long run if such events were to occur more frequently, as is predicted by models of climate change. Text Antarc* Antarctic Emperor penguins Iceberg* Sea ice Weddell Seals PubMed Central (PMC) Antarctic Weddell Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279 1747 4532 4541 |
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Research Articles |
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Research Articles Chambert, Thierry Rotella, Jay J. Garrott, Robert A. Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator† |
topic_facet |
Research Articles |
description |
Extreme events have been suggested to play a disproportionate role in shaping ecological processes, but our understanding of the types of environmental conditions that elicit extreme consequences in natural ecosystems is limited. Here, we investigated the impact of a massive iceberg on the dynamics of a population of Weddell seals. Reproductive rates of females were reduced, but survival appeared unaffected. We also found suggestive evidence for a prolonged shift towards higher variability in reproductive rates. The annual number of females attending colonies showed unusual swings during the iceberg period, a pattern that was apparently the consequence of changes in sea-ice conditions. In contrast to the dramatic effects that were recorded in nearby populations of emperor penguins, our results suggest that this unusual environmental event did not have an extreme impact on the population of seals in the short-term, as they managed to avoid survival costs and were able to rapidly re-achieve high levels of reproduction by the end of the perturbation. Nevertheless, population projections suggest that even this modest impact on reproductive rates could negatively affect the population in the long run if such events were to occur more frequently, as is predicted by models of climate change. |
format |
Text |
author |
Chambert, Thierry Rotella, Jay J. Garrott, Robert A. |
author_facet |
Chambert, Thierry Rotella, Jay J. Garrott, Robert A. |
author_sort |
Chambert, Thierry |
title |
Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator† |
title_short |
Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator† |
title_full |
Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator† |
title_fullStr |
Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator† |
title_full_unstemmed |
Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator† |
title_sort |
environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level antarctic marine predator† |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3479728 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23015628 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 |
geographic |
Antarctic Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Weddell |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Emperor penguins Iceberg* Sea ice Weddell Seals |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Emperor penguins Iceberg* Sea ice Weddell Seals |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3479728 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23015628 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 |
op_rights |
This journal is © 2012 The Royal Society |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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279 |
container_issue |
1747 |
container_start_page |
4532 |
op_container_end_page |
4541 |
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1766272966463586304 |