| NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | February 22, 2013 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | February 22, 2013 |
| Award Number: | 1321782 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Charles Amsler
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | March 1, 2013 |
| End Date: | February 28, 2015 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $87,782.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $87,782.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1156 HIGH ST SANTA CRUZ CA US 95064-1077 (831)459-5278 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
1156 High St Santa Cruz CA US 95064-1077 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | ANT Organisms & Ecosystems |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
Identifying the basic habitat requirements of Antarctic predators is fundamental to understanding how they will respond to the human-induced challenges of commercial fisheries and climate change. This understanding can only be achieved if the underlying linkages to physical processes are related to animal movements. As part of the international Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking Data (RAATD) organized by the SCAR Expert Group of Birds and Marine Mammals, this research will collate and synthesize tracking data from crabeater seals, Lobodon carcinophagus, and Weddell seals, Leptonychotes weddelli. These data will be combined with all available data from the Southern Ocean that has been collected by researchers from Norway, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and the USA. These data will be analyzed using a common analytical approach and synthesized into a synoptic view of these two species across the Southern Ocean. The diving and movement patterns will be examined for each species. As well, the total home range and core habitat utilization patterns for each species and region will be determined. This study will develop global habitat maps for each species based on physical and biological attributes of their "hot-spots" and then overlay all the species specific maps to identify multi-species areas of ecological significance. Broader impacts include support and training for a postdoctoral scholar, the production of a publicly available database and the participation in an international data synthesis effort.
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The SCAR Expert Group on Birds and Marine Mammals (EGBAMM) initiated a multi-nation effort to compile and analyze all tracking data available for several species of marine top predator in the Southern Ocean. The Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking Data (RAATD) aims to undertake a predator community-wide assessment of habitat use of predatory species in the entire Southern Ocean. As part of this initiative, our lab was in charge of gathering and analyzing all data available for crabeater (Lobodon carcinophaga) and Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddelli), two species of ice seals that inhabit the coast of the entire Antarctic continent. These two species were selected in consideration of (1) their large abundance in Antarctic waters (population sizes estimated in several hundreds of thousands individuals to tens of millions), (2) their importance as predators of the pack ice and fast ice regions in the Southern Ocean, preying upon Antarctic krill (Euphasia superba), Antarctic silverfish (Pleurogramma antarcticum) and Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsonni), among other prey, and (3) the availability of large datasets of tracking data available for bot species, spanning for over 30 years. Both of these species are among the most intensely studies species of marine vertebrates in the Southern Ocean.
We have succeeded in obtaining and collating a total of 102 and 135 individual tracks from crabeater and Weddell seals, respectively. ARGOS satellite tracks were collected between the early 90s until 2013 by investigators from Australia, France, Germany, Norway, United Kingdom and United States. Crabeater seal deployments (n = 102) were rather short in duration (with the exception of animals tagged in the Ross Sea), and across their distribution individuals displayed similar patterns of movement, that correspond to the local conditions associated with the ice edge. The tracking data for Weddell seals were not only more numerous in terms of number of individuals tagged (n = 135), but came from a greater number of research programs. As a result, there are more locations across the Antarctic continent for which Weddell seal tracking data are available. Weddell seal deployments also lasted longer, with a maximum duration of just under 1 year. Weddell seal tracking data revealed a large variability across the range of the species. For instance, animals tagged at Dumont d’Urville station (Adèlie land) reached a maximum distance of only 57 km from the tagging locations, whereas Weddell seals tagged in the Weddell Sea reached over 390 km from the capture site. Crabeater seals’ average weekly home range was 4441 ± 23834 km2, and these weekly home ranges varied among the different areas of the Southern Ocean. Animals tagged in the western Antarctica Peninsula had a much more restricted distribution compared with animals from other locations. Weddell seals’ average weekly home range area was 4826 ± 60030 km2. As with crabeater seals, Weddell seals’ weekly home range also varied among study sites across the Southern Ocean.
A further analysis of the patterns of habitat utilization showed that crabeater seals have a much lower variability in the size of their weekly home ranges between individuals and across their entire range. Contrastingly, Weddell seals have a much larger variability among study sites, likely modifying their distribution patterns in response to local conditions. These results provide new evidence on the ecology of both species, particularly with regards to the differences in their respective niche widths. It was previously known that these species vary in their feeding ecology (crabeater seals being highly specialized to feed on krill, whereas Weddell sea...
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