Circumpolar habitat use in the southern elephant seal: implications for foraging success and population trajectories

• DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1213
• Publication Date: 2016-06-06T14:53:36Z
• Authors: Mark A. Hindell; Clive R. McMahon; Marthán N. Bester; Lars Boehme; Daniel Costa; Mike A. Fedak; Christophe Guinet; Laura Herraiz‐Bor...; Robert G. Harcourt; Luis Huckstadt; Kit M. Kovacs; Christian Lydersen; Trevor McIntyre; Monica Muelbert; Toby Patterson; Fabien Roquet; Guy Williams; Jean‐Benoit Charr...
• Keywords: Circumpolar star; Fur seal; Circumpolar deep water; Marine protected area

Abstract In the Southern Ocean, wide‐ranging predators offer opportunity to quantify how animals respond differences in environment because their behavior and population trends are an integrated signal of prevailing conditions within multiple marine habitats. elephant seals particular, can provide useful insights due circumpolar distribution, long distant migrations performance extended bouts deep diving. Furthermore, across range, seal populations have very different trends. this study, we present a data set from International Polar Year project; Marine Mammals Exploring Oceans Pole for southern seals, which large number instruments ( N = 287) deployed on animals, encompassing broad circum‐Antarctic geographic extent, collected situ ocean at‐sea foraging metrics that explicitly link habitat structure time space. Broadly speaking, foraged two habitats, relatively shallow waters Antarctic continental shelf Kerguelen Plateau open water regions. Animals both sexes were more likely exhibit area‐restricted search ARS ) rather than transit While be regarded as prime sexes, female tend move northwards with advance sea ice late autumn or early winter. The masses used by also influenced behavioral mode, being most modified Circumpolar Deepwater northerly Modified Shelf Water, associated outer reaches Continental Shelf. combined effects (1) differing quality, (2) responses encroaching winter progresses among colonies, (3) distances between breeding haul‐out sites high quality (4) long‐term regional extent explain observed colonies.