Foraging responses of Antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment
This study examined the relative contribution of environmental variation and the seasonal demands of pup rearing on the foraging behaviour of female Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at Bird Island, South Georgia (54°S, 38°W), during 3 austral summers (1994 to 1996). Time-depth recorders mea...
Published in: | Marine Ecology Progress Series |
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1998
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Online Access: | http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/49045/ https://doi.org/10.3354/meps166285 |
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ftuglasgow:oai:eprints.gla.ac.uk:49045 2023-05-15T13:36:03+02:00 Foraging responses of Antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment McCafferty, D.J. Boyd, I.L. Walker, T.R. Taylor, R.I. 1998 http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/49045/ https://doi.org/10.3354/meps166285 unknown McCafferty, D.J. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/3989.html> , Boyd, I.L., Walker, T.R. and Taylor, R.I. (1998) Foraging responses of Antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment. Marine Ecology Progress Series <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Marine_Ecology_Progress_Series.html>, 166, pp. 285-299. (doi:10.3354/meps166285 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps166285>) Articles PeerReviewed 1998 ftuglasgow https://doi.org/10.3354/meps166285 2021-09-23T22:30:27Z This study examined the relative contribution of environmental variation and the seasonal demands of pup rearing on the foraging behaviour of female Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at Bird Island, South Georgia (54°S, 38°W), during 3 austral summers (1994 to 1996). Time-depth recorders measured the diving behaviour of 72 individuals during a total of 385 foraging trips totalling 1964 d at sea. The frequencies of krill, fish and squid in the diet were estimated from prey items contained in scats. In 1996, a year of high krill abundance, females made shorter foraging trips, fewer dives and spent more time ashore than in 1994 when krill was scarce. Females fed exclusively on krill in 1996, and frequent shallow daytime diving indicated that krill were close to the surface during the day. In 1994 and 1995 deeper and longer-duration daytime dives were associated with a higher proportion of fish and squid in the diet. Foraging trip duration, ashore duration and dive frequency increased through the course of the 1995 and 1996 lactation seasons. Females, therefore, appeared to match pup demands by increasing both time feeding at sea and energy delivery to the pup on land. However, the importance of sea surface temperature and duration of night in multiple regression models suggested that physical factors were also important in explaining the seasonal pattern of fur seal foraging behaviour. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Bird Island University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications Antarctic Austral Bird Island ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) Marine Ecology Progress Series 166 285 299 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications |
op_collection_id |
ftuglasgow |
language |
unknown |
description |
This study examined the relative contribution of environmental variation and the seasonal demands of pup rearing on the foraging behaviour of female Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at Bird Island, South Georgia (54°S, 38°W), during 3 austral summers (1994 to 1996). Time-depth recorders measured the diving behaviour of 72 individuals during a total of 385 foraging trips totalling 1964 d at sea. The frequencies of krill, fish and squid in the diet were estimated from prey items contained in scats. In 1996, a year of high krill abundance, females made shorter foraging trips, fewer dives and spent more time ashore than in 1994 when krill was scarce. Females fed exclusively on krill in 1996, and frequent shallow daytime diving indicated that krill were close to the surface during the day. In 1994 and 1995 deeper and longer-duration daytime dives were associated with a higher proportion of fish and squid in the diet. Foraging trip duration, ashore duration and dive frequency increased through the course of the 1995 and 1996 lactation seasons. Females, therefore, appeared to match pup demands by increasing both time feeding at sea and energy delivery to the pup on land. However, the importance of sea surface temperature and duration of night in multiple regression models suggested that physical factors were also important in explaining the seasonal pattern of fur seal foraging behaviour. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
McCafferty, D.J. Boyd, I.L. Walker, T.R. Taylor, R.I. |
spellingShingle |
McCafferty, D.J. Boyd, I.L. Walker, T.R. Taylor, R.I. Foraging responses of Antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment |
author_facet |
McCafferty, D.J. Boyd, I.L. Walker, T.R. Taylor, R.I. |
author_sort |
McCafferty, D.J. |
title |
Foraging responses of Antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment |
title_short |
Foraging responses of Antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment |
title_full |
Foraging responses of Antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment |
title_fullStr |
Foraging responses of Antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment |
title_full_unstemmed |
Foraging responses of Antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment |
title_sort |
foraging responses of antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment |
publishDate |
1998 |
url |
http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/49045/ https://doi.org/10.3354/meps166285 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) |
geographic |
Antarctic Austral Bird Island |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Austral Bird Island |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Bird Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Bird Island |
op_relation |
McCafferty, D.J. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/3989.html> , Boyd, I.L., Walker, T.R. and Taylor, R.I. (1998) Foraging responses of Antarctic fur seals to changes in the marine environment. Marine Ecology Progress Series <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Marine_Ecology_Progress_Series.html>, 166, pp. 285-299. (doi:10.3354/meps166285 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps166285>) |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps166285 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
166 |
container_start_page |
285 |
op_container_end_page |
299 |
_version_ |
1766073827115139072 |