You are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids.
Understanding the trophodynamics of marine ecosystems requires data on the temporal and spatial variation in predator diet but, particularly for wide-ranging species, these data are often unavailable. The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) consumes large quantities of fish and squid prey in t...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2440/48210 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2371 |
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ftunivadelaidedl:oai:digital.library.adelaide.edu.au:2440/48210 2023-12-24T10:11:05+01:00 You are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids. Bradshaw, C. Hindell, M. Best, N. Phillips, K. Wilson, G. Nichols, P. 2003 http://hdl.handle.net/2440/48210 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2371 en eng Royal Soc London Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2003; 270(1521):1283-1292 0962-8452 1471-2970 http://hdl.handle.net/2440/48210 doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2371 Bradshaw, C. [0000-0002-5328-7741] http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2371 Fatty Acid Signature Analysis Foraging Diet Spatial Variation Seasonal Variation Journal article 2003 ftunivadelaidedl https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2371 2023-11-27T23:20:48Z Understanding the trophodynamics of marine ecosystems requires data on the temporal and spatial variation in predator diet but, particularly for wide-ranging species, these data are often unavailable. The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) consumes large quantities of fish and squid prey in the Southern Ocean relative to other marine mammals; however, how diet varies relative to seasonal and spatial foraging behaviour is unknown. We used fatty acid (FA) signature analysis of 63 blubber cores from adult female M. leonina over three seasons (winter 1999, summer 2000 and winter 2001) to determine diet structure. We detected significant differences between seasons and between the main foraging regions (Antarctic continental shelf versus pelagic). We used the FA profiles from 53 fish, squid and krill species to construct a discriminant function that would classify each seal, from its blubber sample as having a fish- or squid-FA profile. We determined that a higher proportion of M. leonina had fish-dominated diets during the winter and when foraging around the Antarctic continental shelf, and the majority had more squid-dominated diets during the summer when foraging pelagically. Thus, we were able to measure the coarse-scale diet structure of a major marine predator using FA profiles, and estimate its associated seasonal and temporal variation. Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Mark A. Hindell, Narelle J. Best, Katrina L. Phillips, Gareth Wilson, Peter D. Nichols Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean The University of Adelaide: Digital Library Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Bradshaw ENVELOPE(163.867,163.867,-71.467,-71.467) Corey ENVELOPE(-145.133,-145.133,-76.667,-76.667) Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 270 1521 1283 1292 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Adelaide: Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivadelaidedl |
language |
English |
topic |
Fatty Acid Signature Analysis Foraging Diet Spatial Variation Seasonal Variation |
spellingShingle |
Fatty Acid Signature Analysis Foraging Diet Spatial Variation Seasonal Variation Bradshaw, C. Hindell, M. Best, N. Phillips, K. Wilson, G. Nichols, P. You are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids. |
topic_facet |
Fatty Acid Signature Analysis Foraging Diet Spatial Variation Seasonal Variation |
description |
Understanding the trophodynamics of marine ecosystems requires data on the temporal and spatial variation in predator diet but, particularly for wide-ranging species, these data are often unavailable. The southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) consumes large quantities of fish and squid prey in the Southern Ocean relative to other marine mammals; however, how diet varies relative to seasonal and spatial foraging behaviour is unknown. We used fatty acid (FA) signature analysis of 63 blubber cores from adult female M. leonina over three seasons (winter 1999, summer 2000 and winter 2001) to determine diet structure. We detected significant differences between seasons and between the main foraging regions (Antarctic continental shelf versus pelagic). We used the FA profiles from 53 fish, squid and krill species to construct a discriminant function that would classify each seal, from its blubber sample as having a fish- or squid-FA profile. We determined that a higher proportion of M. leonina had fish-dominated diets during the winter and when foraging around the Antarctic continental shelf, and the majority had more squid-dominated diets during the summer when foraging pelagically. Thus, we were able to measure the coarse-scale diet structure of a major marine predator using FA profiles, and estimate its associated seasonal and temporal variation. Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Mark A. Hindell, Narelle J. Best, Katrina L. Phillips, Gareth Wilson, Peter D. Nichols |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bradshaw, C. Hindell, M. Best, N. Phillips, K. Wilson, G. Nichols, P. |
author_facet |
Bradshaw, C. Hindell, M. Best, N. Phillips, K. Wilson, G. Nichols, P. |
author_sort |
Bradshaw, C. |
title |
You are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids. |
title_short |
You are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids. |
title_full |
You are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids. |
title_fullStr |
You are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids. |
title_full_unstemmed |
You are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids. |
title_sort |
you are what you eat: describing the foraging ecology of southern elephant seals (mirounga leonina) using blubber fatty acids. |
publisher |
Royal Soc London |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2440/48210 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2371 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(163.867,163.867,-71.467,-71.467) ENVELOPE(-145.133,-145.133,-76.667,-76.667) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Bradshaw Corey |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Bradshaw Corey |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean |
op_source |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2371 |
op_relation |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2003; 270(1521):1283-1292 0962-8452 1471-2970 http://hdl.handle.net/2440/48210 doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2371 Bradshaw, C. [0000-0002-5328-7741] |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2371 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
270 |
container_issue |
1521 |
container_start_page |
1283 |
op_container_end_page |
1292 |
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1786160330130325504 |