Seasonal habitat preference and foraging behaviour of post-moult Weddell seals in the western Ross Sea

Goetz, Kimberly T.; Dinniman, Michael S.; Hückstädt, Luis A.; Robinson, Patrick W.; Shero, Michelle R.; Burns, Jennifer M.; Hofmann, Eileen E.; Stammerjohn, Sharon E.; Hazen, Elliott L.; Ainley, David G.; Costa, Daniel P.

doi:10.1098/rsos.220500

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i

Seasonal habitat preference and foraging behaviour of post-moult Weddell seals in the western Ross Sea

2023
By Goetz, Kimberly T. ; Dinniman, Michael S. ; Hückstädt, Luis A. ; ...
Source: Royal Society Open Science, 10(1)

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Journal Title:

Royal Society Open Science
Personal Author:

Goetz, Kimberly T. ; Dinniman, Michael S. ; Hückstädt, Luis A. ; Robinson, Patrick W. ; Shero, Michelle R. ; ... More +

Goetz, Kimberly T. ; Dinniman, Michael S. ; Hückstädt, Luis A. ; Robinson, Patrick W. ; Shero, Michelle R. ; Burns, Jennifer M. ; Hofmann, Eileen E. ; Stammerjohn, Sharon E. ; Hazen, Elliott L. ; Ainley, David G. ; Costa, Daniel P. Less -
NOAA Program & Office:

NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service) ; NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; AFSC (Alaska Fisheries Science Center) ; NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information) ; SWFSC (Southwest Fisheries Science Center)

NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service) ; NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) ; AFSC (Alaska Fisheries Science Center) ; NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information) ; SWFSC (Southwest Fisheries Science Center) Less -
Description:

Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) are important predators in the Southern Ocean and are among the best-studied pinnipeds on Earth, yet much still needs to be learned about their year-round movements and foraging behaviour. Using biologgers, we tagged 62 post-moult Weddell seals in McMurdo Sound and vicinity between 2010 and 2012. Generalized additive mixed models were used to (i) explain and predict the probability of seal presence and foraging behaviour from eight environmental variables, and (ii) examine foraging behaviour in relation to dive metrics. Foraging probability was highest in winter and lowest in summer, and foraging occurred mostly in the water column or just above the bottom; across all seasons, seals preferentially exploited the shallow banks and deeper troughs of the Ross Sea, the latter providing a pathway for Circumpolar Deep Water to flow onto the shelf. In addition, the probability of Weddell seal occurrence and foraging increased with increasing bathymetric slope and where water depth was typically less than 600 m. Although the probability of occurrence was higher closer to the shelf break, foraging was higher in areas closer to shore and over banks. This study highlights the importance of overwinter foraging for recouping body mass lost during the previous summer.
Keywords:

[+]

Multidisciplinary
Source:

Royal Society Open Science, 10(1)
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220500
ISSN:

2054-5703
Format:

PDF
Publisher:

The Royal Society
Document Type:

Journal Article
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rights Information:

CC BY
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

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urn:sha256:3740ef76f355338f45b5ba91c77a6e032f3b3f607c63ec59f33e18db9bc8fc52
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/50988/noaa_50988_DS1.pdf
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