Flash and grab: deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey
International audience Bioluminescence, which occurs in approximately 80% of the world's mesopelagic fauna, can take the form of a low-intensity continuous glow (e.g. for counter-illumination or signalling) or fast repetitions of brighter anti-predatory flashes. The southern elephant seal (SES)...
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Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-02639353 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 |
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ftunivrochelle:oai:HAL:hal-02639353v1 2024-02-11T10:03:30+01:00 Flash and grab: deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey Goulet, Pauline Guinet, Christophe Campagna, Claudio Campagna, Julieta Tyack, Peter Lloyd Johnson, Mark University of St Andrews Scotland 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) Centro Nacional Patagónico (CENPAT) University of Wisconsin-Madison 2020-05-19 https://hal.science/hal-02639353 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 en eng HAL CCSD The Company of Biologists info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1242/jeb.222810 hal-02639353 https://hal.science/hal-02639353 doi:10.1242/jeb.222810 PUBMEDCENTRAL: PMC7322542 ISSN: 0022-0949 EISSN: 1477-9145 Journal of Experimental Biology https://hal.science/hal-02639353 Journal of Experimental Biology, 2020, 223 (10), pp.jeb222810. ⟨10.1242/jeb.222810⟩ Anti-predator tactic Bioluminescence Biologging Mirounga leonina Foraging ecology Predator–prey interactions [SDE]Environmental Sciences info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2020 ftunivrochelle https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 2024-01-23T23:34:58Z International audience Bioluminescence, which occurs in approximately 80% of the world's mesopelagic fauna, can take the form of a low-intensity continuous glow (e.g. for counter-illumination or signalling) or fast repetitions of brighter anti-predatory flashes. The southern elephant seal (SES) is a major consumer of mesopelagic organisms, in particular the abundant myctophid fish, yet the fine-scale relationship between this predator's foraging behaviour and bioluminescent prey remains poorly understood. We hypothesised that brief, intense light emissions should be closely connected with prey strikes when the seal is targeting bioluminescent prey that reacts by emitting anti-predator flashes. To test this, we developed a biologging device containing a fast-sampling light sensor together with location and movement sensors to measure simultaneously anti-predator bioluminescent emissions and the predator's attack motions with a 20 ms resolution. Tags were deployed on female SES breeding at Kerguelen Islands and Península Valdés, Argentina. In situ light levels in combination with duration of prey capture attempts indicated that seals were targeting a variety of prey types. For some individuals, bioluminescent flashes occurred in a large proportion of prey strikes, with the timing of flashes closely connected with the predator's attack motion, suggestive of anti-predator emissions. Marked differences across individuals and location indicate that SES do exploit bioluminescent organisms but the proportion of these in the diet varies widely with location. The combination of wideband light and acceleration data provides new insight into where and when different prey types are encountered and how effectively they might be captured. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals HAL - Université de La Rochelle Kerguelen Kerguelen Islands Argentina Journal of Experimental Biology 223 10 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
HAL - Université de La Rochelle |
op_collection_id |
ftunivrochelle |
language |
English |
topic |
Anti-predator tactic Bioluminescence Biologging Mirounga leonina Foraging ecology Predator–prey interactions [SDE]Environmental Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Anti-predator tactic Bioluminescence Biologging Mirounga leonina Foraging ecology Predator–prey interactions [SDE]Environmental Sciences Goulet, Pauline Guinet, Christophe Campagna, Claudio Campagna, Julieta Tyack, Peter Lloyd Johnson, Mark Flash and grab: deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
topic_facet |
Anti-predator tactic Bioluminescence Biologging Mirounga leonina Foraging ecology Predator–prey interactions [SDE]Environmental Sciences |
description |
International audience Bioluminescence, which occurs in approximately 80% of the world's mesopelagic fauna, can take the form of a low-intensity continuous glow (e.g. for counter-illumination or signalling) or fast repetitions of brighter anti-predatory flashes. The southern elephant seal (SES) is a major consumer of mesopelagic organisms, in particular the abundant myctophid fish, yet the fine-scale relationship between this predator's foraging behaviour and bioluminescent prey remains poorly understood. We hypothesised that brief, intense light emissions should be closely connected with prey strikes when the seal is targeting bioluminescent prey that reacts by emitting anti-predator flashes. To test this, we developed a biologging device containing a fast-sampling light sensor together with location and movement sensors to measure simultaneously anti-predator bioluminescent emissions and the predator's attack motions with a 20 ms resolution. Tags were deployed on female SES breeding at Kerguelen Islands and Península Valdés, Argentina. In situ light levels in combination with duration of prey capture attempts indicated that seals were targeting a variety of prey types. For some individuals, bioluminescent flashes occurred in a large proportion of prey strikes, with the timing of flashes closely connected with the predator's attack motion, suggestive of anti-predator emissions. Marked differences across individuals and location indicate that SES do exploit bioluminescent organisms but the proportion of these in the diet varies widely with location. The combination of wideband light and acceleration data provides new insight into where and when different prey types are encountered and how effectively they might be captured. |
author2 |
University of St Andrews Scotland 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) Centro Nacional Patagónico (CENPAT) University of Wisconsin-Madison |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Goulet, Pauline Guinet, Christophe Campagna, Claudio Campagna, Julieta Tyack, Peter Lloyd Johnson, Mark |
author_facet |
Goulet, Pauline Guinet, Christophe Campagna, Claudio Campagna, Julieta Tyack, Peter Lloyd Johnson, Mark |
author_sort |
Goulet, Pauline |
title |
Flash and grab: deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
title_short |
Flash and grab: deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
title_full |
Flash and grab: deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
title_fullStr |
Flash and grab: deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
title_full_unstemmed |
Flash and grab: deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
title_sort |
flash and grab: deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-02639353 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 |
geographic |
Kerguelen Kerguelen Islands Argentina |
geographic_facet |
Kerguelen Kerguelen Islands Argentina |
genre |
Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals |
op_source |
ISSN: 0022-0949 EISSN: 1477-9145 Journal of Experimental Biology https://hal.science/hal-02639353 Journal of Experimental Biology, 2020, 223 (10), pp.jeb222810. ⟨10.1242/jeb.222810⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1242/jeb.222810 hal-02639353 https://hal.science/hal-02639353 doi:10.1242/jeb.222810 PUBMEDCENTRAL: PMC7322542 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 |
container_title |
Journal of Experimental Biology |
container_volume |
223 |
container_issue |
10 |
_version_ |
1790599759041396736 |