Dive shapes reveal temporal changes in the foraging behaviour of different age and sex classes of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina)

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (9) ◽  
pp. 1569-1577 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Baechler ◽  
C A Beck ◽  
W D Bowen
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Water Flux ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Harbour Seals ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship

Classifying dives into two-dimensional shapes based on time and depth is an attempt to extract additional information about the behaviour of aquatic air-breathing predators. In some species, there is considerable circumstantial evidence that different dive shapes represent different behaviours. However, few studies have provided direct evidence of the relationship between dive shape and function. We classified over 283 000 dives of adults (31 males and 45 females) and suckling (13) and recently weaned (15) harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) pups into seven shapes using supervised discriminant function analysis. Changes in the percentage of U-shaped dives over time within adults and weaned pups were associated with changes in food intake derived from water-flux studies on subsets of the same individuals. The changes in the percentage of U-shaped dives were accompanied by roughly reciprocal changes in V-shaped dives, whereas there was little change in other dive shapes, indicating that V-shaped dives are not generally exhibited during foraging. Video of adult males (from an animal-borne video system) also showed that there was a strong but not exclusive association between foraging and U-shaped dives. Our results indicate that changes in the percentage of U-shaped dives may serve as a reasonable index of changes in foraging behaviour. However, behaviours of suckling pups and adult males during the breeding season cannot be easily inferred from dive shape alone.

The effect of weather conditions on harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) haulout behaviour in the Moray Firth, northeast Scotland

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 1806-1811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Grellier ◽  
Paul M. Thompson ◽  
Heather M. Corpe
Keyword(s):  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Harbour Seals ◽  
Moray Firth ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Relationship

Abundance data from a 6-year study (1988–1993) of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) were used to control for seasonal changes in haulout behaviour and assess the effect of temperature and other weather conditions on haulout numbers at a site in Scotland. A significant relationship between Julian day and haulout numbers was consistent between years. In some years, there was also a significant relationship between ambient temperature and haulout numbers, but examination of the residuals around the relationship between haulout numbers and Julian day revealed no evidence for a consistent effect of temperature, wind speed, or wind-chill adjusted temperatures. A weak negative relationship between haulout numbers and both precipitation and cloud cover did exist, but these variables explained little of the variation in seal numbers.

scholarly journals Structure-function analysis of Arabidopsis TOPLESS reveals fundamental conservation of repression mechanisms across eukaryotes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander R. Leydon ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Hardik P. Gala ◽  
Sabrina Gilmour ◽  
Samuel Juarez-Solis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Auxin Response ◽  
Middle Domain ◽  
N Terminus ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Repression Domain

SummaryThe plant corepressor TOPLESS (TPL) is recruited to a large number of loci that are selectively induced in response to developmental or environmental cues, yet the mechanisms by which it inhibits expression in the absence of these stimuli is poorly understood. Previously, we had used the N-terminus of Arabidopsis thaliana TPL to enable repression of a synthetic auxin response circuit in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast). Here, we leveraged the yeast system to interrogate the relationship between TPL structure and function, specifically scanning for repression domains. We identified a potent repression domain in Helix 8 located within the CRA domain, which directly interacted with the Mediator middle domain subunits Med21 and Med10. Interactions between TPL and Mediator were required to fully repress transcription in both yeast and plants. In contrast, we found that multimer formation, a conserved feature of many corepressors, had minimal influence on the repression strength of TPL.

scholarly journals Status of the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) along the Murman coast of Russia

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey V Zyryanov ◽  
Sergey A Egorov
Keyword(s):  
Activity Pattern ◽  
Daily Activity ◽  
Breeding Site ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Breeding Colony ◽  
Harbour Seals ◽  
By Catch ◽  
Two Peaks ◽  
Gender Specific

Harbour seals are observed along the Murmansk coast of Russia, but they are not very abundant there. The estimated abundance for this area was about 500 individuals in 1998. The number of seals observed during winter months is less than during summer. During summer, the main habitats are the Pechenga inlet, the Motovsky and Kola Bays of the Western Murman coast and the Ivanovskaya Bay in the Eastern Murman coast. The Ivanovskaya Bay was thought to be the easternmost breeding colony of the subspecies Phoca vitulina vitulina. However, recent sightings may indicate the establishment of a breeding site further to the east, which then becomes the easternmost known habitat for this subspecies. A substantial, recent decrease in abundance has been observed in the Ivanovskaya Bay. The population numbered about 120 seals in the early 1990s, but only about 20 seals were seen in 2007 and 2008. It is presumed that the reasons for this reduction include hunting, fishery by-catch, disturbance and depletion of the food supply in this semi-enclosed inlet. A gender-specific daily activity pattern was observed in the IvanovskayaBay. The highest number of single animals (primarily adult males) hauled out during mid day, while hauled out females with pups showed two peaks per day associated with low tides.

Function Analysis of Mature Products Based-on the Function Unit

2014 ◽  
Vol 912-914 ◽  
pp. 1633-1636
Author(s):  
Ming Hai Yuan ◽  
Zhi Yong Dai ◽  
Shuo Cheng ◽  
Aai Min Ji
Keyword(s):  
Incidence Matrix ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Function Unit ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship

The function hierarchy matrix and function incidence matrix was defined to describe the function and to achieve the function decomposing of mature products. At the same time, the function unit table was built, and then the function units of a kind of products were achieved based-on the table. The relationship between function units achieved above was expressed by using the function hierarchy matrix and function incidence matrix. The function incidence matrix was operated to get the function tree and function decomposing based on bottom-up method by using λ-intercept, a conception in fuzzy design.

In-air and underwater vocalizations of eastern Canadian harbour seals, Phoca vitulina

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (7) ◽  
pp. 1173-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofie M Van Parijs ◽  
Kit M Kovacs
Keyword(s):  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Nearest Neighbour ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Mating Season ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Harbour Seals ◽  
The World ◽  
Pinniped Species ◽  
Vocalization Type

Harbour seals, Phoca vitulina, have long been thought to be one of the least vocal pinniped species both in air and under water. However, recent studies have shown that males use underwater vocalizations intensively during the mating season. In air, harbour seals are still thought to be relatively silent. In this study we describe the vocal repertoire of Eastern Canadian harbour seals during the breeding season. Harbour seals from this area produced seven vocalization types in air and one vocalization type under water. In-air vocalizations are predominantly used by adult males during agonistic interactions. Other sex and age classes also vocalize, but less frequently. Nearest neighbour responses to in-air vocalizations were primarily agonistic when any age or sex class vocalized. In this study, seals produced an underwater roar vocalization closely resembling that produced by adult males during the mating season at other sites. Eastern Canadian harbour seals appear to be considerably more vocal when hauled out than is the norm for this species at other sites around the world.

Pup development and timing of pupping in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in the St. Lawrence River estuary, Canada

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Dubé ◽  
M O Hammill ◽  
C Barrette
Keyword(s):  
River Estuary ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Daily Growth Rate ◽  
Daily Growth ◽  
Harbour Seals ◽  
Pup Development ◽  
Lactation Duration ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
St Lawrence River

Surveys to estimate the daily growth rate of harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) pups from birth to weaning and to determine the distribution of births were carried out from early May to late August 1998, 1999, and 2000 at two haulout areas in the St. Lawrence River estuary, Canada. Pups gained mass at a rate of 0.544 kg/day (standard error (SE) = 0.141, range 0.118–0.875 kg/day, N = 110). Births began between 12 and 17 May. The median dates of birth were 28 May (95% confidence interval (CI), 27–30 May) in 1998, 25 May (95% CI, 24–28 May) in 1999, and 26 May (95% CI, 24–27 May) in 2000. Births followed a normal distribution in 2000, but late pupping led to an extended tail in both 1998 and 1999. Pupping occurred at the same time in the St. Lawrence River estuary as at Sable Island, a colony located 600 km to the south, but occurred earlier than predicted by the relationship of Temte et al. (1991). The estimated median dates of weaning were 1 July (95% CI, 20 June to 12 July) in 1998, 30 June (95% CI, 19 June to 11 July) in 1999, and 26 June (95% CI, 20 June to 2 July) in 2000. Pooling years resulted in an average lactation duration of 34 days (SE = 1.8).

scholarly journals Laryngeal and soft palate valving in the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (20) ◽  
pp. jeb230201
Author(s):  
Arlo Adams ◽  
Wayne Vogl ◽  
Camilla Dawson ◽  
Stephen Raverty ◽  
Martin Haulena ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soft Palate ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Vocal Folds ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Harbour Seal ◽  
Upper Aerodigestive Tract ◽  
Laryngeal Inlet ◽  
Harbour Seals ◽  
Lateral Margins ◽  
And Function

ABSTRACTEffective ‘valving’ in the upper aerodigestive tract (UAT) is essential to temporarily separate the digestive and respiratory pathways. Marine mammals are largely dedicated to feeding underwater, and in many cases swallowing prey whole. In seals, little work has been done to explore the anatomy and function of the UAT in the context of valving mechanisms that function to separate food and air pathways. Here we use videofluoroscopy, gross dissection, histology and computed tomography (CT) renderings to explore the anatomy of the larynx and soft palate in the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina), and generate models for how valving mechanisms in the head and neck may function during breathing, phonating, diving and swallowing. Harbour seals have an elevated larynx and the epiglottis may rise above the level of the soft palate, particularly in pups when sucking. In addition, the corniculate and arytenoid cartilages with associated muscles form most of the lateral margins of the laryngeal inlet and vestibule, and move independently to facilitate airway closure. The corniculate cartilages flex over the laryngeal inlet beneath the epiglottis to completely close the laryngeal vestibule and inlet. The vocal folds are thick and muscular and the medial margin of the folds contains a small vocal ligament. The soft palate has well-defined levator veli palatini muscles that probably function to elevate the palate and close the pharyngeal isthmus during feeding. Our results support the conclusion that harbour seals have evolved UAT valving mechanisms as adaptations to a marine environment that are not seen in terrestrial carnivores.

Long-distance movements of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) from a seasonally ice-covered area, the St. Lawrence River estuary, Canada

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (7) ◽  
pp. 1070-1081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Lesage ◽  
Mike O Hammill ◽  
Kit M Kovacs
Keyword(s):  
River Estuary ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Harbour Seal ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Adequate Food ◽  
Harbour Seals ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
St Lawrence River

Previous studies of harbour seal (Phoca vitulina L., 1758) movements indicate that this species is relatively sedentary throughout the year. However, few investigations have examined their movements and seasonal distribution patterns in ice-covered areas. This study used spatial analysis of ice data and movement data from harbour seals collected via satellite (n = 7) and VHF radiotelemetry (n = 15) to explore this species' spatial use patterns in a seasonally ice-covered region, the St. Lawrence River estuary, Canada. When solid ice formed within the bays of the estuary, four of the seven satellite-tagged animals (all adult males) left their summer haul-out areas, migrating 266 ± 202 km (range 65–520 km) to over-wintering sites. The seals exhibited preference for areas of light to intermediate ice conditions during the winter months; at least six of the seven seals occupied areas with lighter ice conditions than those that prevailed generally in the study area. Evidence of high abundance of potential prey for harbour seals in the estuary during winter suggests that reduced availability of adequate food resources is not the primary factor which influences the movement and distribution patterns of harbour seals. Movement patterns observed during the ice-free period concur with previously reported harbour seal behaviour; the seals remained near the coast (<6.1–11.0 km from shore) in shallow water areas (<50 m deep in 100% VHF and 90% SLTDRs (satellite-linked time-depth recorders)) and travelled only short distances (15–45 km) from capture sites. None of the VHF- or satellite-tagged seals crossed the 350 m deep Laurentian channel, which suggests that this deep body of water might represent a physical barrier to this coastal population.

scholarly journals Drivers and constraints on offshore foraging in harbour seals

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. M. Vance ◽  
S. K. Hooker ◽  
L. Mikkelsen ◽  
A. van Neer ◽  
J. Teilmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Trip Length ◽  
Travel Costs ◽  
Harbour Seals ◽  
Patch Depletion

AbstractCentral place foragers are expected to offset travel costs between a central place and foraging areas by targeting productive feeding zones. Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) make multi-day foraging trips away from coastal haul-out sites presumably to target rich food resources, but periodic track points from telemetry tags may be insufficient to infer reliably where, and how often, foraging takes place. To study foraging behaviour during offshore trips, and assess what factors limit trip duration, we equipped harbour seals in the German Wadden Sea with high-resolution multi-sensor bio-logging tags, recording 12 offshore trips from 8 seals. Using acceleration transients as a proxy for prey capture attempts, we found that foraging rates during travel to and from offshore sites were comparable to offshore rates. Offshore foraging trips may, therefore, reflect avoidance of intra-specific competition rather than presence of offshore foraging hotspots. Time spent resting increased by approx. 37 min/day during trips suggesting that a resting deficit rather than patch depletion may influence trip length. Foraging rates were only weakly correlated with surface movement patterns highlighting the value of integrating multi-sensor data from on-animal bio-logging tags (GPS, depth, accelerometers and magnetometers) to infer behaviour and habitat use.

Structural similarity of ribosomes from E. coli and A. salina

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-243
Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
R.M. Wydro ◽  
W. Hellmann ◽  
F. Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Ribosomal Proteins ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Structural Similarity ◽  
Carbon Support ◽  
Artemia Salina ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Biological Assays ◽  
E Coli ◽  
And Function ◽  
Fine Carbon

Ribosomes are ribonucleoprotein particles necessary for processing the genetic information of mRNA into proteins. Analogy in composition and function of ribosomes from diverse species, established by biochemical and biological assays, implies their structural similarity. Direct evidence obtained by electron microscopy seems to be of increasing relevance in understanding the structure of ribosomes and the mechanism of their role in protein synthesis.The extent of the structural homology between prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes has been studied on ribosomes of Escherichia coli (E.c.) and Artemia salina (A.s.). Despite the established differences in size and in the amount and proportion of ribosomal proteins and RNAs both types of ribosomes show an overall similarity. The monosomes (stained with 0.5% aqueous uranyl acetate and deposited on a fine carbon support) appear in the electron micrographs as round particles with a diameter of approximately 225Å for the 70S E.c. (Fig. 1) and 260Å for the 80S A.s. monosome (Fig. 2).

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