Fortuitous Encounters between Seagliders and Adult Female Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) off the Washington (USA) Coast: Upper Ocean Variability and Links to Top Predator Behavior
Behavioral responses by top marine predators to oceanographic features such as eddies, river plumes, storms, and coastal topography suggest that biophysical interactions in these zones affect predators' prey, foraging behaviors, and potentially fitness. However, examining these pathways is chal...
Published in: | PLoS ONE |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science
2014
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4143212 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25153524 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101268 |
id |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:4143212 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:4143212 2023-05-15T18:49:03+02:00 Fortuitous Encounters between Seagliders and Adult Female Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) off the Washington (USA) Coast: Upper Ocean Variability and Links to Top Predator Behavior Pelland, Noel A. Sterling, Jeremy T. Lea, Mary-Anne Bond, Nicholas A. Ream, Rolf R. Lee, Craig M. Eriksen, Charles C. 2014-08-25 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4143212 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25153524 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101268 en eng Public Library of Science http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25153524 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101268 This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. PDM CC0 Research Article Text 2014 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101268 2014-08-31T00:54:19Z Behavioral responses by top marine predators to oceanographic features such as eddies, river plumes, storms, and coastal topography suggest that biophysical interactions in these zones affect predators' prey, foraging behaviors, and potentially fitness. However, examining these pathways is challenged by the obstacles inherent in obtaining simultaneous observations of surface and subsurface environmental fields and predator behavior. In this study, migratory movements and, in some cases, diving behavior of 40 adult female northern fur seals (NFS; Callorhinus ursinus) were quantified across their range and compared to remotely-sensed environmental data in the Gulf of Alaska and California Current ecosystems, with a particular focus off the coast of Washington State (USA) – a known foraging ground for adult female NFS and where autonomous glider sampling allowed opportunistic comparison of seal behavior to subsurface biophysical measurements. The results show that in these ecosystems, adult female habitat utilization was concentrated near prominent coastal topographic, riverine, or inlet features and within 200 km of the continental shelf break. Seal dive depths, in most ecosystems, were moderated by surface light level (solar or lunar), mirroring known behaviors of diel vertically-migrating prey. However, seal dives differed in the California Current ecosystem due to a shift to more daytime diving concentrated at or below the surface mixed layer base. Seal movement models indicate behavioral responses to season, ecosystem, and surface wind speeds; individuals also responded to mesoscale eddies, jets, and the Columbia River plume. Foraging within small scale surface features is consistent with utilization of the inner coastal transition zone and habitats near coastal capes, which are known eddy and filament generation sites. These results contribute to our knowledge of NFS migratory patterns by demonstrating surface and subsurface behavioral responses to a spatially and temporally dynamic ocean environment, thus ... Text Alaska Callorhinus ursinus PubMed Central (PMC) Gulf of Alaska PLoS ONE 9 8 e101268 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Research Article |
spellingShingle |
Research Article Pelland, Noel A. Sterling, Jeremy T. Lea, Mary-Anne Bond, Nicholas A. Ream, Rolf R. Lee, Craig M. Eriksen, Charles C. Fortuitous Encounters between Seagliders and Adult Female Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) off the Washington (USA) Coast: Upper Ocean Variability and Links to Top Predator Behavior |
topic_facet |
Research Article |
description |
Behavioral responses by top marine predators to oceanographic features such as eddies, river plumes, storms, and coastal topography suggest that biophysical interactions in these zones affect predators' prey, foraging behaviors, and potentially fitness. However, examining these pathways is challenged by the obstacles inherent in obtaining simultaneous observations of surface and subsurface environmental fields and predator behavior. In this study, migratory movements and, in some cases, diving behavior of 40 adult female northern fur seals (NFS; Callorhinus ursinus) were quantified across their range and compared to remotely-sensed environmental data in the Gulf of Alaska and California Current ecosystems, with a particular focus off the coast of Washington State (USA) – a known foraging ground for adult female NFS and where autonomous glider sampling allowed opportunistic comparison of seal behavior to subsurface biophysical measurements. The results show that in these ecosystems, adult female habitat utilization was concentrated near prominent coastal topographic, riverine, or inlet features and within 200 km of the continental shelf break. Seal dive depths, in most ecosystems, were moderated by surface light level (solar or lunar), mirroring known behaviors of diel vertically-migrating prey. However, seal dives differed in the California Current ecosystem due to a shift to more daytime diving concentrated at or below the surface mixed layer base. Seal movement models indicate behavioral responses to season, ecosystem, and surface wind speeds; individuals also responded to mesoscale eddies, jets, and the Columbia River plume. Foraging within small scale surface features is consistent with utilization of the inner coastal transition zone and habitats near coastal capes, which are known eddy and filament generation sites. These results contribute to our knowledge of NFS migratory patterns by demonstrating surface and subsurface behavioral responses to a spatially and temporally dynamic ocean environment, thus ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Pelland, Noel A. Sterling, Jeremy T. Lea, Mary-Anne Bond, Nicholas A. Ream, Rolf R. Lee, Craig M. Eriksen, Charles C. |
author_facet |
Pelland, Noel A. Sterling, Jeremy T. Lea, Mary-Anne Bond, Nicholas A. Ream, Rolf R. Lee, Craig M. Eriksen, Charles C. |
author_sort |
Pelland, Noel A. |
title |
Fortuitous Encounters between Seagliders and Adult Female Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) off the Washington (USA) Coast: Upper Ocean Variability and Links to Top Predator Behavior |
title_short |
Fortuitous Encounters between Seagliders and Adult Female Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) off the Washington (USA) Coast: Upper Ocean Variability and Links to Top Predator Behavior |
title_full |
Fortuitous Encounters between Seagliders and Adult Female Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) off the Washington (USA) Coast: Upper Ocean Variability and Links to Top Predator Behavior |
title_fullStr |
Fortuitous Encounters between Seagliders and Adult Female Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) off the Washington (USA) Coast: Upper Ocean Variability and Links to Top Predator Behavior |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fortuitous Encounters between Seagliders and Adult Female Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) off the Washington (USA) Coast: Upper Ocean Variability and Links to Top Predator Behavior |
title_sort |
fortuitous encounters between seagliders and adult female northern fur seals (callorhinus ursinus) off the washington (usa) coast: upper ocean variability and links to top predator behavior |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4143212 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25153524 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101268 |
geographic |
Gulf of Alaska |
geographic_facet |
Gulf of Alaska |
genre |
Alaska Callorhinus ursinus |
genre_facet |
Alaska Callorhinus ursinus |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25153524 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101268 |
op_rights |
This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. |
op_rightsnorm |
PDM CC0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101268 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
e101268 |
_version_ |
1766242479196078080 |