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An understanding of pinniped haulout behaviour can provide information on how animals interact with their environment, their foraging strategies and the behaviour of their prey. For Weddell seals Leptonychotes weddelli, knowledge of haulout patterns and the environmental drivers of haulout is comprehensive for the austral spring and summer, but is poorly described outside this period. Pinniped behaviour is commonly examined using satellite telemetry; however, it is unclear whether the behavioural state of the seal can itself influence data acquisition. We examined haulout behaviour of female Weddell seals in eastern Antarctica over 3 winters (March to August, 2006–2008) using satellite-linked data loggers. Haulout behaviour followed a diel cycle with predominantly nocturnal haulouts. The environmental variables wind speed and temperature were influential on haulout, with seals tending to haul out more in lower winds and at higher temperatures. Haulout duration decreased across the winter, as did the number of satellite uplinks, suggesting that haulout duration played a role in data acquisition. There was no evidence of a decline in tag condition over this period, indicating that the decrease in uplinks was primarily the result of the winter behaviour of the seals. Overall, the number of haulout locations in the data set was over-represented, with more uplinks per hour occurring when the seals were hauled out than when they were at sea. For Weddell seals and other ice seals, tracking data that include haulout locations can bias spatial representations of foraging behaviour (e.g. haulout sites may be mistaken for regions of area-restricted search).

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Weddell seal · Haulout · Winter · Satellite telemetry
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Ecology
Research Field:	Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Coastal and estuarine systems and management
Objective Field:	Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems
UTAS Author:	Andrews-Goff, V (Ms Virginia Andrews-Goff)
UTAS Author:	Hindell, MA (Professor Mark Hindell)
UTAS Author:	Field, IC (Dr Iain Field)
UTAS Author:	Wheatley, KE (Dr Kathryn Wheatley)
ID Code:	66356
Year Published:	2010
Deposited By:	Zoology
Deposited On:	2011-01-13
Last Modified:	2012-03-06
Downloads:	489 View Download Statistics