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Foraging habitats of southern elephant seals, Mirounga leonina, from the Northern Antarctic Peninsula

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 22:27 authored by Muelbert, MMC, de Souza, RB, Lewis, MN, Mark HindellMark Hindell
ElephantIsland(EI)isuniquelyplacedtoprovidesouthernelephantseals(SES)breedingtherewith potentialaccesstoforaginggroundsintheWeddellSea,thefrontalzonesoftheSouthAtlanticOcean, the PatagonianshelfandtheWesternAntarcticPeninsula(WAP).Quantifyingwheresealsfrom EI foragethereforeprovidesinsightsintothetypesofimportanthabitatsavailable,andwhichareof particularimportancetoelephantseals.TwentynineSES(5sub-adultmales—SAM and24adult females—AF) wereequippedwithSMRUCTD-SLDRsduringthepost-breeding(PB2008,2009)and post-moulting(PM2007,2008,2009,2010)tripstosea.Therewerestrikingintra-annualandinter-sex differencesinforagingareas,withmostofthePBfemalesremainingwithin150kmofEI.OnePBAF travelleddowntheWAPasdid16outofthe20PMfemalesandforagednearthewinterice-edge.Most PM sub-adultmalesremainedclosetoEI,inareassimilartothoseusedbyadultfemalesseveralmonths earlier, althoughoneSAMspenttheearlypartofthewinterforagingonthePatagonianShelf.The watersoftheNorthernAntarcticPeninsula(NAP)containabundantresourcestosupportthemajority of theIslands’SESforthesummerandearlywinter,suchthattheanimalsfromthispopulationhave shortermigrationsthanthosefrommostotherpopulations.Sub-adultmalesandPBfemalesare certainlytakingadvantageoftheseresources.However,PMfemalesdidnotremainthereoverthe wintermonths,insteadtheyusedthesamewatersattheice-edgeinthesouthernWAPthatfemales from bothKingGeorgeIslandandSouthGeorgiaused.Femalesmademorebenthicdivesthansub- adultmales—again thiscontrastswithothersiteswhereSAMsdomorebenthicdiving.Unlikemost other populationsstudiedtodateEIisarelativelysoutherlybreedingcolonylocatedontheAntarctic continentalshelf.EIsealsareusingshelfhabitatsmorethanotherSESpopulationsbutsomeindividuals still employopenwaterforagingstrategies.Sea-icewasalsoveryinfluentialforPMfemaleswithmore foragingoccurringinheavierpack-ice.Largerfemalesusedareaswithheavierice-concentrationthan smallerfemales.Thestudydemonstratestheimportanceofshelfandslopehabitattoelephantseals, but alsohighlightedtheinfluenceofsea-iceandfine-scalebathymetryandlocaloceanconditionin determiningforaginghabitat.

History

Publication title

Deep-Sea Research. Part 2: Topical Studies in Oceanography

Volume

88-89

Pagination

47-60

ISSN

0967-0645

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd

Place of publication

The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, England, Ox5 1Gb

Rights statement

Copyright 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems

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