At sea ecology of Weddell seals in East Antarctica in relation with environmental physical parameters

• Main Author: Heerah, Karine
• Other Authors: Paris 6, University of Tasmania, Charrassin, Jean-Benoît, Hindell, Mark, Guinet, Christophe
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Pinnipèdes; Antarctique; Écologie alimentaire; Océanographie; Modèles d'habitat; Comportement de plongée; Pinnipeds; Foraging behaviour; envir; geo; Antarctic; Dumont d’Urville; East Antarctica; Phoques; The Antarctic; Weddell; Antarc*; Antarctica; Antarctique*; banquise; Sea ice; Weddell Seal; Weddell Seals
• Online Access: http://www.theses.fr/2014PA066533/document

Studying the movement patterns and diving behaviour of top predators in relation with biotic and abiotic environmental features can provide valuable insights in the behavioural tactics they have evolved and/or learned to maximize prey acquisition in a given environment. The Weddell seal is the only marine mammal inhabiting the coastal fast-ice area year-round. While its behaviour has been well studied in summer when individuals are breeding or moulting on the sea-ice, virtually nothing is known about their winter ecology. However, winter is a crucial period in Weddell seals life cycle during which they spend 80% of their time diving under the ice to store the energy needed for the following breeding season. Using telemetric data, the main aim of this thesis was to improve our understanding of the foraging strategies adopted by Weddell seals during winter in two locations of East Antarctica (Dumont D’Urville and Davis). First, we developed two methods to identify and quantify within dive foraging effort from both high and low-resolution dive datasets. Then, these foraging metrics were used to investigate the influence of several key abiotic parameters of the Antarctic environment (topography, light intensity, sea-ice, water masses) on Weddell seals’ foraging behaviour. L'étude des mouvements et du comportement de plongée des prédateurs marins en relation avec les caractéristiques biotiques et abiotiques de l'environnement permet d'apporter des indications précieuses sur les stratégies comportementales innées et/ou qu'ils ont développé afin de maximiser l'acquisition des proies dans un environnement donné. Le phoque de Weddell est le seul mammifère marin vivant toute l'année dans la banquise permanente. Bien que son comportement ait été bien étudié en été lorsque les individus se reproduisent et muent sur la glace de mer, nous ne savons presque rien de leur l'écologie hivernale. Cependant, l'hiver est une période cruciale dans le cycle de vie des phoques de Weddell durant laquelle ils passent 80% de leur temps à ...