Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology of a marine predator across a dynamic seascape
Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology among consumers add to the complexities of trophic structure and its processes across all biomes on Earth. In this dissertation, I investigated the foraging ecology and plasticity of an ice-adapted marine predator, the ringed sea...
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ftunivwindsor:oai:scholar.uwindsor.ca:etd-6685 2023-06-11T04:08:32+02:00 Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology of a marine predator across a dynamic seascape Yurkowski, David James 2016-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5686 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/etd/article/6685/viewcontent/dave_y.pdf eng eng University of Windsor https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5686 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/etd/article/6685/viewcontent/dave_y.pdf info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Electronic Theses and Dissertations Animal satellite telemetry Arctic Stable isotopes Trophic ecology info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis 2016 ftunivwindsor 2023-05-06T19:04:05Z Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology among consumers add to the complexities of trophic structure and its processes across all biomes on Earth. In this dissertation, I investigated the foraging ecology and plasticity of an ice-adapted marine predator, the ringed seal (Pusa hispida), inhabiting the Arctic marine environment – a dynamic seascape undergoing rapid climatic changes – across age, space and time using stable isotope analysis and animal satellite telemetry. I used a long-term dataset (1990 – 2013) of ringed seal muscle (n = 630) and liver (n = 558) samples, as well as satellite telemetry data (1999-2013; n= 132) collected from seven locations across the Arctic of varying latitude (56ºN – 76ºN) and longitude (-117ºW – -61ºW). I first quantified the general increase in δ13C and δ15N values of three tissues from eight arctic marine mammal species after chemical lipid extraction with results varying across species, developed species- and tissue-specific lipid normalization models, and a species-tissue-specific decision framework for the best lipid correction approach. I then quantified spatial and temporal variation of ringed seal dietary prey contributions, isotopic niche size and trophic position during ontogeny across the Arctic. I found a general latitudinal trend where the level of fish consumption and trophic position of ringed seals decreased due to increased prevalence of sub-arctic fish species and less trophic complexity in the zooplankton community at lower latitudes. As well, isotopic niche size for ringed seals and beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) increased at lower latitudes and level of individual specialization in ringed seals increased at lower latitudes as a response to large-scale spatial variation in ecological opportunity (i.e. prey species richness) which is higher at lower latitudes. Using satellite telemetry, I found that individuals from higher latitudes, which undergo shorter ice-free seasons, spend more time traveling and less time foraging ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Arctic Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Pusa hispida ringed seal Zooplankton University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwindsor |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal satellite telemetry Arctic Stable isotopes Trophic ecology |
spellingShingle |
Animal satellite telemetry Arctic Stable isotopes Trophic ecology Yurkowski, David James Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology of a marine predator across a dynamic seascape |
topic_facet |
Animal satellite telemetry Arctic Stable isotopes Trophic ecology |
description |
Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology among consumers add to the complexities of trophic structure and its processes across all biomes on Earth. In this dissertation, I investigated the foraging ecology and plasticity of an ice-adapted marine predator, the ringed seal (Pusa hispida), inhabiting the Arctic marine environment – a dynamic seascape undergoing rapid climatic changes – across age, space and time using stable isotope analysis and animal satellite telemetry. I used a long-term dataset (1990 – 2013) of ringed seal muscle (n = 630) and liver (n = 558) samples, as well as satellite telemetry data (1999-2013; n= 132) collected from seven locations across the Arctic of varying latitude (56ºN – 76ºN) and longitude (-117ºW – -61ºW). I first quantified the general increase in δ13C and δ15N values of three tissues from eight arctic marine mammal species after chemical lipid extraction with results varying across species, developed species- and tissue-specific lipid normalization models, and a species-tissue-specific decision framework for the best lipid correction approach. I then quantified spatial and temporal variation of ringed seal dietary prey contributions, isotopic niche size and trophic position during ontogeny across the Arctic. I found a general latitudinal trend where the level of fish consumption and trophic position of ringed seals decreased due to increased prevalence of sub-arctic fish species and less trophic complexity in the zooplankton community at lower latitudes. As well, isotopic niche size for ringed seals and beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) increased at lower latitudes and level of individual specialization in ringed seals increased at lower latitudes as a response to large-scale spatial variation in ecological opportunity (i.e. prey species richness) which is higher at lower latitudes. Using satellite telemetry, I found that individuals from higher latitudes, which undergo shorter ice-free seasons, spend more time traveling and less time foraging ... |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Yurkowski, David James |
author_facet |
Yurkowski, David James |
author_sort |
Yurkowski, David James |
title |
Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology of a marine predator across a dynamic seascape |
title_short |
Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology of a marine predator across a dynamic seascape |
title_full |
Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology of a marine predator across a dynamic seascape |
title_fullStr |
Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology of a marine predator across a dynamic seascape |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology of a marine predator across a dynamic seascape |
title_sort |
spatial, temporal and within-species variation in the foraging ecology of a marine predator across a dynamic seascape |
publisher |
University of Windsor |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5686 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/etd/article/6685/viewcontent/dave_y.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Pusa hispida ringed seal Zooplankton |
genre_facet |
Arctic Beluga Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Pusa hispida ringed seal Zooplankton |
op_source |
Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
op_relation |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5686 https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/context/etd/article/6685/viewcontent/dave_y.pdf |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
_version_ |
1768381831216889856 |