Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume
Predators feeding in a highly dynamic environment have evolved strategies to respond to patchy resource distribution. However, studying these ecological interactions is challenging in the marine environment, as both predators and elements in their environment are often highly mobile and difficult to...
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Online Access: | https://eprints.utas.edu.au/25213/ https://eprints.utas.edu.au/25213/1/121853%20final.pdf https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12312 |
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ftunivtasmania:oai:eprints.utas.edu.au:25213 2023-05-15T16:05:37+02:00 Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume O'Toole, M Guinet, C Lea, MA Hindell, MA 2017 application/pdf https://eprints.utas.edu.au/25213/ https://eprints.utas.edu.au/25213/1/121853%20final.pdf https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12312 en eng Inter-Research https://eprints.utas.edu.au/25213/1/121853%20final.pdf O'Toole, M, Guinet, C, Lea, MA orcid:0000-0001-8318-9299 and Hindell, MA orcid:0000-0002-7823-7185 2017 , 'Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume' , Marine Ecology - Progress Series, vol. 581 , pp. 215-227 , doi:10.3354/meps12312 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps12312>. dive behaviour Kerguelen phytoplankton plume prey access Mirounga leonina foraging strategy prey encounter events Article PeerReviewed 2017 ftunivtasmania https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12312 2021-09-13T22:16:42Z Predators feeding in a highly dynamic environment have evolved strategies to respond to patchy resource distribution. However, studying these ecological interactions is challenging in the marine environment, as both predators and elements in their environment are often highly mobile and difficult to monitor. We used sensors deployed on female southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina to collect data as they foraged hundreds of metres below a large recurrent phytoplankton plume east of the Kerguelen Islands (49°15’S, 69°10’E). Data collected by animal-borne light sensors were used to reconstruct phytoplankton patterns encountered by the seals. Prey encounter events (PEEs) recorded by seal-borne accelerometers below the euphotic zone were compared with phytoplankton estimates at 2 scales: mesoscale (10s to 100s km) and small scale (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 results showed 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 upper and lower euphotic layers. Seals recorded more PEEs and shallower dives below high-density patches of phytoplankton. We propose that phytoplankton density at the mesoscale facilitates prey 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 net energy intake, and we demonstrate its resilience in a highly dynamic ecosystem. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals University of Tasmania: UTas ePrints Kerguelen Kerguelen Islands Marine Ecology Progress Series 581 215 227 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tasmania: UTas ePrints |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasmania |
language |
English |
topic |
dive behaviour Kerguelen phytoplankton plume prey access Mirounga leonina foraging strategy prey encounter events |
spellingShingle |
dive behaviour Kerguelen phytoplankton plume prey access Mirounga leonina foraging strategy prey encounter events O'Toole, M Guinet, C Lea, MA Hindell, MA Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume |
topic_facet |
dive behaviour Kerguelen phytoplankton plume prey access Mirounga leonina foraging strategy prey encounter events |
description |
Predators feeding in a highly dynamic environment have evolved strategies to respond to patchy resource distribution. However, studying these ecological interactions is challenging in the marine environment, as both predators and elements in their environment are often highly mobile and difficult to monitor. We used sensors deployed on female southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina to collect data as they foraged hundreds of metres below a large recurrent phytoplankton plume east of the Kerguelen Islands (49°15’S, 69°10’E). Data collected by animal-borne light sensors were used to reconstruct phytoplankton patterns encountered by the seals. Prey encounter events (PEEs) recorded by seal-borne accelerometers below the euphotic zone were compared with phytoplankton estimates at 2 scales: mesoscale (10s to 100s km) and small scale (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 results showed 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 upper and lower euphotic layers. Seals recorded more PEEs and shallower dives below high-density patches of phytoplankton. We propose that phytoplankton density at the mesoscale facilitates prey 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 net energy intake, and we demonstrate its resilience in a highly dynamic ecosystem. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
O'Toole, M Guinet, C Lea, MA Hindell, MA |
author_facet |
O'Toole, M Guinet, C Lea, MA Hindell, MA |
author_sort |
O'Toole, M |
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 |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/25213/ https://eprints.utas.edu.au/25213/1/121853%20final.pdf https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12312 |
geographic |
Kerguelen Kerguelen Islands |
geographic_facet |
Kerguelen Kerguelen Islands |
genre |
Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals |
op_relation |
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/25213/1/121853%20final.pdf O'Toole, M, Guinet, C, Lea, MA orcid:0000-0001-8318-9299 and Hindell, MA orcid:0000-0002-7823-7185 2017 , 'Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume' , Marine Ecology - Progress Series, vol. 581 , pp. 215-227 , doi:10.3354/meps12312 <http://dx.doi.org/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_ |
1766401516001820672 |