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Foraging behaviour of southern elephant seals over the Kerguelen Plateau

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 01:43 authored by O'Toole, M, Mark HindellMark Hindell, Charrassin, J-B, Guinet, C
A total of 79 (37 juvenile male, 42 adult female) southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina from the Kerguelen Islands were tracked between 2004 and 2009. Area-restricted search patterns and dive behaviour were established from location data gathered by CTD satellite-relayed data loggers. At-sea movements of the seals demonstrated that >40% of the juvenile elephant seal population tagged use the Kerguelen Plateau during the austral winter. Search activity increased where temperature at 200 m depth was lower, when closer to the shelf break, and, to a lesser extent, where sea-surface height anomalies were higher. However, while this model explained the observed data (F1,242 = 88.23, p < 0.0001), bootstrap analysis revealed poor predictive capacity (r2 = 0.264). There appears to be potential overlap between the seals and commercial fishing operations in the region. This study may therefore support ecosystem-based fisheries management of the region, with the aim of maintaining ecological integrity of the shelf.

History

Publication title

Marine Ecology Progress Series

Volume

502

Pagination

281-294

ISSN

0171-8630

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

Inter-Research

Place of publication

Nordbunte 23, Oldendorf Luhe, Germany, D-21385

Rights statement

Copyright 2014 Inter-Research

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems

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