The influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing Antarctic fur seals
Predictable sources of food underpin lifetime reproductive output in long lived animals. The most important foraging areas of top marine predators are therefore likely to be related to environmental features that enhance productivity in predictable spatial and temporal patterns. Even so, although pr...
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ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:63817 2023-05-15T13:35:38+02:00 The influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing Antarctic fur seals Casper, RM Sumner, MD Hindell, MA Gales, NJ Staniland, IJ Goldsworthy, SD 2010 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2009.06155.x http://ecite.utas.edu.au/63817 en eng Blackwell Munksgaard http://ecite.utas.edu.au/63817/1/casper, influence of diet on foraging.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2009.06155.x Casper, RM and Sumner, MD and Hindell, MA and Gales, NJ and Staniland, IJ and Goldsworthy, SD, The influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing Antarctic fur seals, Ecography: Pattern and Diversity in Ecology, 33, (4) pp. 748-759. ISSN 0906-7590 (2010) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/63817 Biological Sciences Ecology Behavioural Ecology Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2010 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2009.06155.x 2019-12-13T21:33:37Z Predictable sources of food underpin lifetime reproductive output in long lived animals. The most important foraging areas of top marine predators are therefore likely to be related to environmental features that enhance productivity in predictable spatial and temporal patterns. Even so, although productive areas within the marine environment are distributed patchily in space and time, most studies assess the relationships between feeding activity and proximate, not long term, environmental characteristics. In addition, individuals within a population may exploit different prey types, and these are often associated with different hydrographic features. Until now, models attempting to associate core foraging areas (CFAs) of marine predators with the environmental characteristics of those areas have not considered the diet of individual animals, despite the influence this could have on these relationships. We used bathymetry and multi-year (n=24) mean sea surface temperature and variability as predictors of CFAs of lactating Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at Heard Island. The effect of prey types on the predictability of these models was explored by matching diet and foraging trip data of individual seals (n=40 seals, n=1 trip each). Differences in diet between seals were mirrored by their spatial behaviour. Foraging strategies differed both between and within groups of seals consuming different diets. Long-term environmental parameters were useful for predicting the foraging activity of seals that consumed a single prey type with relatively specific habitat preferences, but not for those that consumed single or multiple prey types associated with more varied habitats. Ignoring individual variation in predator diet probably contributes to the poor performance of foraging habitat models. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating individual specialization in foraging behaviour into ecological models and management of predator populations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Heard Island eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic Heard Island Ecography 33 4 748 759 |
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collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences Ecology Behavioural Ecology |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Ecology Behavioural Ecology Casper, RM Sumner, MD Hindell, MA Gales, NJ Staniland, IJ Goldsworthy, SD The influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing Antarctic fur seals |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences Ecology Behavioural Ecology |
description |
Predictable sources of food underpin lifetime reproductive output in long lived animals. The most important foraging areas of top marine predators are therefore likely to be related to environmental features that enhance productivity in predictable spatial and temporal patterns. Even so, although productive areas within the marine environment are distributed patchily in space and time, most studies assess the relationships between feeding activity and proximate, not long term, environmental characteristics. In addition, individuals within a population may exploit different prey types, and these are often associated with different hydrographic features. Until now, models attempting to associate core foraging areas (CFAs) of marine predators with the environmental characteristics of those areas have not considered the diet of individual animals, despite the influence this could have on these relationships. We used bathymetry and multi-year (n=24) mean sea surface temperature and variability as predictors of CFAs of lactating Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at Heard Island. The effect of prey types on the predictability of these models was explored by matching diet and foraging trip data of individual seals (n=40 seals, n=1 trip each). Differences in diet between seals were mirrored by their spatial behaviour. Foraging strategies differed both between and within groups of seals consuming different diets. Long-term environmental parameters were useful for predicting the foraging activity of seals that consumed a single prey type with relatively specific habitat preferences, but not for those that consumed single or multiple prey types associated with more varied habitats. Ignoring individual variation in predator diet probably contributes to the poor performance of foraging habitat models. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating individual specialization in foraging behaviour into ecological models and management of predator populations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Casper, RM Sumner, MD Hindell, MA Gales, NJ Staniland, IJ Goldsworthy, SD |
author_facet |
Casper, RM Sumner, MD Hindell, MA Gales, NJ Staniland, IJ Goldsworthy, SD |
author_sort |
Casper, RM |
title |
The influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing Antarctic fur seals |
title_short |
The influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing Antarctic fur seals |
title_full |
The influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing Antarctic fur seals |
title_fullStr |
The influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing Antarctic fur seals |
title_full_unstemmed |
The influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing Antarctic fur seals |
title_sort |
influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing antarctic fur seals |
publisher |
Blackwell Munksgaard |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2009.06155.x http://ecite.utas.edu.au/63817 |
geographic |
Antarctic Heard Island |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Heard Island |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Heard Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Heard Island |
op_relation |
http://ecite.utas.edu.au/63817/1/casper, influence of diet on foraging.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2009.06155.x Casper, RM and Sumner, MD and Hindell, MA and Gales, NJ and Staniland, IJ and Goldsworthy, SD, The influence of diet on foraging habitat models: a case study using nursing Antarctic fur seals, Ecography: Pattern and Diversity in Ecology, 33, (4) pp. 748-759. ISSN 0906-7590 (2010) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/63817 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2009.06155.x |
container_title |
Ecography |
container_volume |
33 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
748 |
op_container_end_page |
759 |
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1766068275732545536 |