Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume
International audience Predators feeding in a highly dynamic environment have evolved strategies to re -spond to patchy resource distribution. However, studying these ecological interactions is challengingin the marine environment, as both predators and elements in their environment are oftenhighly...
Published in: | Marine Ecology Progress Series |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
HAL CCSD
2017
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01636338 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12312 |
id |
ftunivnantes:oai:HAL:hal-01636338v1 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivnantes:oai:HAL:hal-01636338v1 2023-05-15T16:05:40+02:00 Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume O’toole, Malcolm Guinet, Christophe Lea, Ma Hindell, Mark A. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Hobart (IMAS) University of Tasmania Hobart, Australia (UTAS) Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC - Australia Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE-CRC) 2017-10-13 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01636338 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12312 en eng HAL CCSD Inter Research info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.3354/meps12312 hal-01636338 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01636338 doi:10.3354/meps12312 ISSN: 0171-8630 EISSN: 1616-1599 Marine Ecology Progress Series https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01636338 Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2017, 581, pp.215 - 227. ⟨10.3354/meps12312⟩ Mirounga leonina Foraging strategy Prey encounter events Dive behaviour Kerguelen phytoplankton plume Prey access [SDE]Environmental Sciences info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2017 ftunivnantes https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12312 2023-01-04T00:05:33Z International audience Predators feeding in a highly dynamic environment have evolved strategies to re -spond to patchy resource distribution. However, studying these ecological interactions is challengingin the marine environment, as both predators and elements in their environment are oftenhighly mobile and difficult to monitor. We used sensors deployed on female southern elephantseals Mirounga leonina to collect data as they foraged hundreds of metres below a large recurrentphytoplankton plume east of the Kerguelen Islands (49° 15’ S, 69° 10’ E). Data collected by animalbornelight sensors were used to reconstruct phytoplankton patterns encountered by the seals.Prey encounter events (PEEs) recorded by seal-borne accelerometers below the euphotic zonewere compared with phytoplankton estimates at 2 scales: mesoscale (10s to 100s km) and smallscale (inter-dive). These analyses were performed on data recorded during daylight hours only,and did not include data at night due to the sensitivity threshold of the light sensors. Our resultsshowed that elephant seals moved through alternating patches of high- and low-density phytoplankton,but the timing and locations of these bloom patches were different between the upperand lower euphotic layers. Seals recorded more PEEs and shallower dives below high-densitypatches of phytoplankton. We propose that phytoplankton density at the mesoscale facilitatesprey aggregation (direct effect). However, phytoplankton density between dives (small scale)likely facilitates vertical access to prey via the shading effect of phytoplankton (indirect effect).Our study shows how a deep-diving marine predator may use its environment to maximise netenergy intake, and we demonstrate its resilience in a highly dynamic ecosystem. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina Université de Nantes: HAL-UNIV-NANTES Kerguelen Kerguelen Islands Marine Ecology Progress Series 581 215 227 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Université de Nantes: HAL-UNIV-NANTES |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnantes |
language |
English |
topic |
Mirounga leonina Foraging strategy Prey encounter events Dive behaviour Kerguelen phytoplankton plume Prey access [SDE]Environmental Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Mirounga leonina Foraging strategy Prey encounter events Dive behaviour Kerguelen phytoplankton plume Prey access [SDE]Environmental Sciences O’toole, Malcolm Guinet, Christophe Lea, Ma Hindell, Mark A. Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume |
topic_facet |
Mirounga leonina Foraging strategy Prey encounter events Dive behaviour Kerguelen phytoplankton plume Prey access [SDE]Environmental Sciences |
description |
International audience Predators feeding in a highly dynamic environment have evolved strategies to re -spond to patchy resource distribution. However, studying these ecological interactions is challengingin the marine environment, as both predators and elements in their environment are oftenhighly mobile and difficult to monitor. We used sensors deployed on female southern elephantseals Mirounga leonina to collect data as they foraged hundreds of metres below a large recurrentphytoplankton plume east of the Kerguelen Islands (49° 15’ S, 69° 10’ E). Data collected by animalbornelight sensors were used to reconstruct phytoplankton patterns encountered by the seals.Prey encounter events (PEEs) recorded by seal-borne accelerometers below the euphotic zonewere compared with phytoplankton estimates at 2 scales: mesoscale (10s to 100s km) and smallscale (inter-dive). These analyses were performed on data recorded during daylight hours only,and did not include data at night due to the sensitivity threshold of the light sensors. Our resultsshowed that elephant seals moved through alternating patches of high- and low-density phytoplankton,but the timing and locations of these bloom patches were different between the upperand lower euphotic layers. Seals recorded more PEEs and shallower dives below high-densitypatches of phytoplankton. We propose that phytoplankton density at the mesoscale facilitatesprey aggregation (direct effect). However, phytoplankton density between dives (small scale)likely facilitates vertical access to prey via the shading effect of phytoplankton (indirect effect).Our study shows how a deep-diving marine predator may use its environment to maximise netenergy intake, and we demonstrate its resilience in a highly dynamic ecosystem. |
author2 |
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Hobart (IMAS) University of Tasmania Hobart, Australia (UTAS) Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC - Australia Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE-CRC) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
O’toole, Malcolm Guinet, Christophe Lea, Ma Hindell, Mark A. |
author_facet |
O’toole, Malcolm Guinet, Christophe Lea, Ma Hindell, Mark A. |
author_sort |
O’toole, Malcolm |
title |
Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume |
title_short |
Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume |
title_full |
Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume |
title_fullStr |
Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume |
title_sort |
marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent kerguelen plume |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01636338 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12312 |
geographic |
Kerguelen Kerguelen Islands |
geographic_facet |
Kerguelen Kerguelen Islands |
genre |
Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina |
op_source |
ISSN: 0171-8630 EISSN: 1616-1599 Marine Ecology Progress Series https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01636338 Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2017, 581, pp.215 - 227. ⟨10.3354/meps12312⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.3354/meps12312 hal-01636338 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01636338 doi:10.3354/meps12312 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12312 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
581 |
container_start_page |
215 |
op_container_end_page |
227 |
_version_ |
1766401569003143168 |