Dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents
The work was funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (RESPONSE project, NE/J004251/1 and NERC National Capability SMRU1001), Scottish Natural Heritage and Marine Scotland Previous studies have found that predators utilise habitat...
Published in: | Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10023/9752 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-016-2219-7 |
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ftstandrewserep:oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/9752 2024-04-21T08:10:25+00:00 Dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents Hastie, Gordon Drummond Russell, Deborah Jill Benjamins, Steven Moss, Simon Wilson, Ben Thompson, David NERC University of St Andrews. School of Biology University of St Andrews. Sea Mammal Research Unit University of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotland University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute University of St Andrews. Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling 2016-11-02T16:30:16Z 14 1605368 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10023/9752 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-016-2219-7 eng eng Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 245970208 7ae7596c-d5fe-49bc-b500-85a90d2ffad6 84991106947 000387656900016 Hastie , G D , Russell , D J , Benjamins , S , Moss , S , Wilson , B & Thompson , D 2016 , ' Dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents ' , Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology , vol. 70 , no. 12 , pp. 2161–2174 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-016-2219-7 0340-5443 ORCID: /0000-0002-1969-102X/work/49052067 ORCID: /0000-0002-9773-2755/work/54819199 ORCID: /0000-0003-1546-2876/work/56862190 https://hdl.handle.net/10023/9752 doi:10.1007/s00265-016-2219-7 NE/J004251/1 Foraging Marine mammal Oceanographic Predator Pinniped Diving GC Oceanography QH301 Biology QL Zoology NERC SDG 14 - Life Below Water GC QH301 QL Journal article 2016 ftstandrewserep https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-016-2219-7 2024-03-27T15:07:39Z The work was funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (RESPONSE project, NE/J004251/1 and NERC National Capability SMRU1001), Scottish Natural Heritage and Marine Scotland Previous studies have found that predators utilise habitat corridors to ambush prey moving through them. In the marine environment, coastal channels effectively act as habitat corridors for prey movements, and sightings of predators in such areas suggest that they may target these for foraging. Unlike terrestrial systems where the underlying habitat structure is generally static, corridors in marine systems are in episodic flux due to water movements created by tidal processes. Although these hydrographic features can be highly complex, there is generally a predictable underlying cyclic tidal pattern to their structure. For marine predators that must find prey that is often patchy and widely distributed, the underlying temporal predictability in potential foraging opportunities in marine corridors may be important drivers in their use. Here we used data from land-based sightings and nineteen harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) tagged with high-resolution GPS telemetry to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of seals in a narrow tidal channel. These seals showed a striking pattern in their distribution; all seals spent a high proportion of their time around the narrowest point of the channel. There was also a distinctive tidal pattern in the use of the channel; sightings of seals in the water peaked during the flood tide and were at a minimum during the ebb tide. This pattern is likely to be related to prey availability and/or foraging efficiency driven by the underlying tidal pattern in the water movements through the channel. Peer reviewed Article in Journal/Newspaper Phoca vitulina University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 70 12 2161 2174 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftstandrewserep |
language |
English |
topic |
Foraging Marine mammal Oceanographic Predator Pinniped Diving GC Oceanography QH301 Biology QL Zoology NERC SDG 14 - Life Below Water GC QH301 QL |
spellingShingle |
Foraging Marine mammal Oceanographic Predator Pinniped Diving GC Oceanography QH301 Biology QL Zoology NERC SDG 14 - Life Below Water GC QH301 QL Hastie, Gordon Drummond Russell, Deborah Jill Benjamins, Steven Moss, Simon Wilson, Ben Thompson, David Dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents |
topic_facet |
Foraging Marine mammal Oceanographic Predator Pinniped Diving GC Oceanography QH301 Biology QL Zoology NERC SDG 14 - Life Below Water GC QH301 QL |
description |
The work was funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (RESPONSE project, NE/J004251/1 and NERC National Capability SMRU1001), Scottish Natural Heritage and Marine Scotland Previous studies have found that predators utilise habitat corridors to ambush prey moving through them. In the marine environment, coastal channels effectively act as habitat corridors for prey movements, and sightings of predators in such areas suggest that they may target these for foraging. Unlike terrestrial systems where the underlying habitat structure is generally static, corridors in marine systems are in episodic flux due to water movements created by tidal processes. Although these hydrographic features can be highly complex, there is generally a predictable underlying cyclic tidal pattern to their structure. For marine predators that must find prey that is often patchy and widely distributed, the underlying temporal predictability in potential foraging opportunities in marine corridors may be important drivers in their use. Here we used data from land-based sightings and nineteen harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) tagged with high-resolution GPS telemetry to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of seals in a narrow tidal channel. These seals showed a striking pattern in their distribution; all seals spent a high proportion of their time around the narrowest point of the channel. There was also a distinctive tidal pattern in the use of the channel; sightings of seals in the water peaked during the flood tide and were at a minimum during the ebb tide. This pattern is likely to be related to prey availability and/or foraging efficiency driven by the underlying tidal pattern in the water movements through the channel. Peer reviewed |
author2 |
NERC University of St Andrews. School of Biology University of St Andrews. Sea Mammal Research Unit University of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotland University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute University of St Andrews. Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hastie, Gordon Drummond Russell, Deborah Jill Benjamins, Steven Moss, Simon Wilson, Ben Thompson, David |
author_facet |
Hastie, Gordon Drummond Russell, Deborah Jill Benjamins, Steven Moss, Simon Wilson, Ben Thompson, David |
author_sort |
Hastie, Gordon Drummond |
title |
Dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents |
title_short |
Dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents |
title_full |
Dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents |
title_fullStr |
Dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents |
title_full_unstemmed |
Dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents |
title_sort |
dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/9752 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-016-2219-7 |
genre |
Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
Phoca vitulina |
op_relation |
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 245970208 7ae7596c-d5fe-49bc-b500-85a90d2ffad6 84991106947 000387656900016 Hastie , G D , Russell , D J , Benjamins , S , Moss , S , Wilson , B & Thompson , D 2016 , ' Dynamic habitat corridors for marine predators : intensive use of a coastal channel by harbour seals is modulated by tidal currents ' , Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology , vol. 70 , no. 12 , pp. 2161–2174 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-016-2219-7 0340-5443 ORCID: /0000-0002-1969-102X/work/49052067 ORCID: /0000-0002-9773-2755/work/54819199 ORCID: /0000-0003-1546-2876/work/56862190 https://hdl.handle.net/10023/9752 doi:10.1007/s00265-016-2219-7 NE/J004251/1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-016-2219-7 |
container_title |
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
container_volume |
70 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
2161 |
op_container_end_page |
2174 |
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1796951875953623040 |