Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea
Weddell Sea hydrography and circulation is driven by influx of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) at its eastern margin. Entrainment and upwelling of this high-nutrient, oxygen-depleted water mass within the Weddell Gyre also supports the mesopelagic ecosystem...
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2010
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Online Access: | https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/effects-of-hydrographic-variability-on-the-spatial-seasonal-and-diel-diving-patterns-of-southern-elephant-seals-in-the-eastern-weddell-sea(3c0de314-fc57-47b3-ad16-6b3cf00b3fa0).html https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013816 |
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/3c0de314-fc57-47b3-ad16-6b3cf00b3fa0 2023-05-15T13:58:40+02:00 Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea Biuw, Martin Nøst, Ole Anders Stien, Audun Zhou, Qin Lydersen, Christian Kovacs, Kit M 2010 https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/effects-of-hydrographic-variability-on-the-spatial-seasonal-and-diel-diving-patterns-of-southern-elephant-seals-in-the-eastern-weddell-sea(3c0de314-fc57-47b3-ad16-6b3cf00b3fa0).html https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013816 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Biuw , M , Nøst , O A , Stien , A , Zhou , Q , Lydersen , C & Kovacs , K M 2010 , ' Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea ' , PLoS One , vol. 5 , no. 11 , pp. e13816 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013816 Algorithms Animal Migration Animals Antarctic Regions Circadian Rhythm Diving Ecosystem Feeding Behavior Female Geography Male Models Biological Oceanography Oceans and Seas Seals Earless Seasons Temperature Time Factors Water Movements article 2010 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013816 2021-12-26T14:28:17Z Weddell Sea hydrography and circulation is driven by influx of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) at its eastern margin. Entrainment and upwelling of this high-nutrient, oxygen-depleted water mass within the Weddell Gyre also supports the mesopelagic ecosystem within the gyre and the rich benthic community along the Antarctic shelf. We used Conductivity-Temperature-Depth Satellite Relay Data Loggers (CTD-SRDLs) to examine the importance of hydrographic variability, ice cover and season on the movements and diving behavior of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea region during their overwinter feeding trips from Bouvetøya. We developed a model describing diving depth as a function of local time of day to account for diel variation in diving behavior. Seals feeding in pelagic ice-free waters during the summer months displayed clear diel variation, with daytime dives reaching 500-1500 m and night-time targeting of the subsurface temperature and salinity maxima characteristic of CDW around 150-300 meters. This pattern was especially clear in the Weddell Cold and Warm Regimes within the gyre, occurred in the ACC, but was absent at the Dronning Maud Land shelf region where seals fed benthically. Diel variation was almost absent in pelagic feeding areas covered by winter sea ice, where seals targeted deep layers around 500-700 meters. Thus, elephant seals appear to switch between feeding strategies when moving between oceanic regimes or in response to seasonal environmental conditions. While they are on the shelf, they exploit the locally-rich benthic ecosystem, while diel patterns in pelagic waters in summer are probably a response to strong vertical migration patterns within the copepod-based pelagic food web. Behavioral flexibility that permits such switching between different feeding strategies may have important consequences regarding the potential for southern elephant seals to adapt to variability or systematic changes in their environment resulting from ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Bouvetøya Dronning Maud Land Elephant Seals Sea ice Southern Elephant Seals Weddell Sea University of St Andrews: Research Portal Antarctic Bouvetøya ENVELOPE(3.358,3.358,-54.422,-54.422) Dronning Maud Land The Antarctic Weddell Weddell Sea PLoS ONE 5 11 e13816 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
topic |
Algorithms Animal Migration Animals Antarctic Regions Circadian Rhythm Diving Ecosystem Feeding Behavior Female Geography Male Models Biological Oceanography Oceans and Seas Seals Earless Seasons Temperature Time Factors Water Movements |
spellingShingle |
Algorithms Animal Migration Animals Antarctic Regions Circadian Rhythm Diving Ecosystem Feeding Behavior Female Geography Male Models Biological Oceanography Oceans and Seas Seals Earless Seasons Temperature Time Factors Water Movements Biuw, Martin Nøst, Ole Anders Stien, Audun Zhou, Qin Lydersen, Christian Kovacs, Kit M Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea |
topic_facet |
Algorithms Animal Migration Animals Antarctic Regions Circadian Rhythm Diving Ecosystem Feeding Behavior Female Geography Male Models Biological Oceanography Oceans and Seas Seals Earless Seasons Temperature Time Factors Water Movements |
description |
Weddell Sea hydrography and circulation is driven by influx of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) at its eastern margin. Entrainment and upwelling of this high-nutrient, oxygen-depleted water mass within the Weddell Gyre also supports the mesopelagic ecosystem within the gyre and the rich benthic community along the Antarctic shelf. We used Conductivity-Temperature-Depth Satellite Relay Data Loggers (CTD-SRDLs) to examine the importance of hydrographic variability, ice cover and season on the movements and diving behavior of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea region during their overwinter feeding trips from Bouvetøya. We developed a model describing diving depth as a function of local time of day to account for diel variation in diving behavior. Seals feeding in pelagic ice-free waters during the summer months displayed clear diel variation, with daytime dives reaching 500-1500 m and night-time targeting of the subsurface temperature and salinity maxima characteristic of CDW around 150-300 meters. This pattern was especially clear in the Weddell Cold and Warm Regimes within the gyre, occurred in the ACC, but was absent at the Dronning Maud Land shelf region where seals fed benthically. Diel variation was almost absent in pelagic feeding areas covered by winter sea ice, where seals targeted deep layers around 500-700 meters. Thus, elephant seals appear to switch between feeding strategies when moving between oceanic regimes or in response to seasonal environmental conditions. While they are on the shelf, they exploit the locally-rich benthic ecosystem, while diel patterns in pelagic waters in summer are probably a response to strong vertical migration patterns within the copepod-based pelagic food web. Behavioral flexibility that permits such switching between different feeding strategies may have important consequences regarding the potential for southern elephant seals to adapt to variability or systematic changes in their environment resulting from ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Biuw, Martin Nøst, Ole Anders Stien, Audun Zhou, Qin Lydersen, Christian Kovacs, Kit M |
author_facet |
Biuw, Martin Nøst, Ole Anders Stien, Audun Zhou, Qin Lydersen, Christian Kovacs, Kit M |
author_sort |
Biuw, Martin |
title |
Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea |
title_short |
Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea |
title_full |
Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea |
title_fullStr |
Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea |
title_sort |
effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern weddell sea |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/effects-of-hydrographic-variability-on-the-spatial-seasonal-and-diel-diving-patterns-of-southern-elephant-seals-in-the-eastern-weddell-sea(3c0de314-fc57-47b3-ad16-6b3cf00b3fa0).html https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013816 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(3.358,3.358,-54.422,-54.422) |
geographic |
Antarctic Bouvetøya Dronning Maud Land The Antarctic Weddell Weddell Sea |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Bouvetøya Dronning Maud Land The Antarctic Weddell Weddell Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Bouvetøya Dronning Maud Land Elephant Seals Sea ice Southern Elephant Seals Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Bouvetøya Dronning Maud Land Elephant Seals Sea ice Southern Elephant Seals Weddell Sea |
op_source |
Biuw , M , Nøst , O A , Stien , A , Zhou , Q , Lydersen , C & Kovacs , K M 2010 , ' Effects of hydrographic variability on the spatial, seasonal and diel diving patterns of southern elephant seals in the eastern Weddell Sea ' , PLoS One , vol. 5 , no. 11 , pp. e13816 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013816 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013816 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
5 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
e13816 |
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1766267015489650688 |