Cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas
Marine top-predators show fidelity to foraging areas with predictable high-quality food patches. Areas of predictable prey yield are of conservation importance and telemetry data aid in identifying such areas. This study examined colony specific and intra-individual foraging site fidelity of lactati...
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56393 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11798 |
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ftunivpretoria:oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/56393 2023-05-15T17:10:18+02:00 Cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas Wege, Mia Tosh, Cheryl A. De Bruyn, P.J. Nico Bester, Marthan Nieuwoudt 2016-08-18T07:24:49Z http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56393 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11798 en eng Inter-Research http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56393 Wege, M, Tosh, C, De Bruyn, PJN & Bester, MN 2016, 'Cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas', Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 554, pp. 225-239. 0173-9565 (print) 1439-0485 (online) doi:10.3354/meps11798 © Inter-Research 2016 Arctocephalus tropicalis Directional preference Foraging tactic Habitat utilization Marine protected area Marion Island Satellite telemetry Subantarctic TLoCoH Top predator Postprint Article 2016 ftunivpretoria https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11798 2022-05-31T13:02:21Z Marine top-predators show fidelity to foraging areas with predictable high-quality food patches. Areas of predictable prey yield are of conservation importance and telemetry data aid in identifying such areas. This study examined colony specific and intra-individual foraging site fidelity of lactating Subantarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus tropicalis) from Marion Island (46°54‟S, 37°45‟E) during summer and winter, comparing commitment to foraging areas across seasons. Thirty-one females were tracked in 2009-2013 resulting in 111 foraging trips for analyses. Inter-annually, preferred foraging areas in summer were consistently ≈200 km due east of Marion Island towards the Gallieni Rise. Summer individuals' core utilization areas overlapped by an estimated 32.84% (CI: 24.53% - 41.94%). Seals responded to a decrease in regional productivity in winter by foraging in more distant alternative areas. In winter, individuals changed their travelling direction to north-east of Marion Island and foraged further afield, around the Del Caño Rise and along the South-west Indian Ridge. Despite preferring some foraging areas in winter, there was a low amount of overlap 6.03% (CI 4.02% - 9.16%) of individual core utilization areas. The foraging grounds identified in this study have not been included in prior conservation assessments and are important in conserving for this globally significant, and currently declining, population of Subantarctic fur seals and perhaps other toppredators breeding at Marion Island as well. Differences between winter and summer preferred foraging areas highlight the importance of sampling during different seasons when using telemetry data for the identification of potential pelagic conservation areas. The Department of Science and Technology, through the National Research Foundation (NRF), in support of the Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme of the Mammal Research Institute. http://www.int-res.com 2017-07-31 hb2016 Zoology and Entomology Article in Journal/Newspaper Marion Island University of Pretoria: UPSpace Indian Gallieni Rise ENVELOPE(39.667,39.667,-46.417,-46.417) Marine Ecology Progress Series 554 225 239 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Pretoria: UPSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivpretoria |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctocephalus tropicalis Directional preference Foraging tactic Habitat utilization Marine protected area Marion Island Satellite telemetry Subantarctic TLoCoH Top predator |
spellingShingle |
Arctocephalus tropicalis Directional preference Foraging tactic Habitat utilization Marine protected area Marion Island Satellite telemetry Subantarctic TLoCoH Top predator Wege, Mia Tosh, Cheryl A. De Bruyn, P.J. Nico Bester, Marthan Nieuwoudt Cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas |
topic_facet |
Arctocephalus tropicalis Directional preference Foraging tactic Habitat utilization Marine protected area Marion Island Satellite telemetry Subantarctic TLoCoH Top predator |
description |
Marine top-predators show fidelity to foraging areas with predictable high-quality food patches. Areas of predictable prey yield are of conservation importance and telemetry data aid in identifying such areas. This study examined colony specific and intra-individual foraging site fidelity of lactating Subantarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus tropicalis) from Marion Island (46°54‟S, 37°45‟E) during summer and winter, comparing commitment to foraging areas across seasons. Thirty-one females were tracked in 2009-2013 resulting in 111 foraging trips for analyses. Inter-annually, preferred foraging areas in summer were consistently ≈200 km due east of Marion Island towards the Gallieni Rise. Summer individuals' core utilization areas overlapped by an estimated 32.84% (CI: 24.53% - 41.94%). Seals responded to a decrease in regional productivity in winter by foraging in more distant alternative areas. In winter, individuals changed their travelling direction to north-east of Marion Island and foraged further afield, around the Del Caño Rise and along the South-west Indian Ridge. Despite preferring some foraging areas in winter, there was a low amount of overlap 6.03% (CI 4.02% - 9.16%) of individual core utilization areas. The foraging grounds identified in this study have not been included in prior conservation assessments and are important in conserving for this globally significant, and currently declining, population of Subantarctic fur seals and perhaps other toppredators breeding at Marion Island as well. Differences between winter and summer preferred foraging areas highlight the importance of sampling during different seasons when using telemetry data for the identification of potential pelagic conservation areas. The Department of Science and Technology, through the National Research Foundation (NRF), in support of the Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme of the Mammal Research Institute. http://www.int-res.com 2017-07-31 hb2016 Zoology and Entomology |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wege, Mia Tosh, Cheryl A. De Bruyn, P.J. Nico Bester, Marthan Nieuwoudt |
author_facet |
Wege, Mia Tosh, Cheryl A. De Bruyn, P.J. Nico Bester, Marthan Nieuwoudt |
author_sort |
Wege, Mia |
title |
Cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas |
title_short |
Cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas |
title_full |
Cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas |
title_fullStr |
Cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas |
title_sort |
cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56393 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11798 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(39.667,39.667,-46.417,-46.417) |
geographic |
Indian Gallieni Rise |
geographic_facet |
Indian Gallieni Rise |
genre |
Marion Island |
genre_facet |
Marion Island |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/56393 Wege, M, Tosh, C, De Bruyn, PJN & Bester, MN 2016, 'Cross-seasonal foraging site fidelity of subantarctic fur seals : implications for marine conservation areas', Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 554, pp. 225-239. 0173-9565 (print) 1439-0485 (online) doi:10.3354/meps11798 |
op_rights |
© Inter-Research 2016 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11798 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
554 |
container_start_page |
225 |
op_container_end_page |
239 |
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1766066894720204800 |