Marine predators and phytoplankton: how elephant seals use the recurrent Kerguelen plume

2017 ◽  
Vol 581 ◽  
pp. 215-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
M O’Toole ◽  
C Guinet ◽  
MA Lea ◽  
MA Hindell
1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Guinet ◽  
Pierre Jouventin ◽  
Henri Weimerskirch

The elephant seal populations breeding on the Îles Crozet and Kerguelen were regularly surveyed over the last three decades. At Îles Kerguelen the number of breeding females decreased at an annual rate of 3.6% between 1970 and 1987, then increased at an annual rate of 1.1% to 1997. At Îles Crozet, the population was reported to decrease at a rate of 5.35% between 1970 and 1990 but no change in numbers was found between 1990 and 1997. These results indicate that the rapid decline observed both at Îles Crozet and Îles Kerguelen has ended, and these populations are now either stable or slightly increasing. We suggest that broad scale change in environmental factors affecting the food availability for elephant seals may be responsible for the change in numbers of these marine predators. The higher rate of decrease, the longer period of decline, and the absence of any significant change between 1990 and 1997 observed on the Îles Crozet may be explained by additional factors such as killer whale predation.


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen Reichmuth ◽  
Caroline Casey ◽  
Isabelle Charrier ◽  
Nicolas Mathevon ◽  
Brandon Southall

2020 ◽  
Vol 142 ◽  
pp. 161-170
Author(s):  
AM Sánchez-Sarmiento ◽  
V Ruoppolo ◽  
MMC Muelbert ◽  
JS Ferreira Neto ◽  
JL Catão-Dias

Brucella spp. and Leptospira spp. antibodies were surveyed in 35 southern elephant seals (SESs) Mirounga leonina at Elephant Island (South Shetland Islands), western Antarctic peninsula, in the Austral summer of 2003 and 2004. The rose Bengal test and a commercial competitive ELISA (c-ELISA) were used to detect Brucella spp. exposure, and the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) with 22 live serovars was used to determine anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies. We found evidence of Brucella spp. exposure in 3 of 35 (8.6%) SESs tested via the c-ELISA displaying high percentage inhibition (PI), similar to other studies in pinnipeds in which Brucella spp. antibodies have been determined. Two of the 3 positives were pups (PI = 70.4 and 86.6%), while the third was an adult female (PI = 48.8%). The 3 c-ELISA positive SESs were additionally tested via the serum agglutination test but were found to be negative. All individuals were negative for antibodies against 22 Leptospira spp. serovars by MAT. These results contribute to the knowledge and monitoring of zoonotic pathogens with epizootic potential in Southern Ocean pinnipeds. Given the potential impact that pathogens may have on the abundance of wild (sometimes threatened and endangered) populations, constant monitoring and surveillance are required to prevent pathogen spread, particularly under forecast climate change scenarios.


2016 ◽  
Vol 544 ◽  
pp. 197-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Chin ◽  
MR Heupel ◽  
CA Simpfendorfer ◽  
AJ Tobin

2020 ◽  
Vol 635 ◽  
pp. 187-202
Author(s):  
T Brough ◽  
W Rayment ◽  
E Slooten ◽  
S Dawson

Many species of marine predators display defined hotspots in their distribution, although the reasons why this happens are not well understood in some species. Understanding whether hotspots are used for certain behaviours provides insights into the importance of these areas for the predators’ ecology and population viability. In this study, we investigated the spatiotemporal distribution of foraging behaviour in Hector’s dolphin Cephalorhynchus hectori, a small, endangered species from New Zealand. Passive acoustic monitoring of foraging ‘buzzes’ was carried out at 4 hotspots and 6 lower-use, ‘reference areas’, chosen randomly based on a previous density analysis of visual sightings. The distribution of buzzes was modelled among spatial locations and on 3 temporal scales (season, time of day, tidal state) with generalised additive mixed models using 82000 h of monitoring data. Foraging rates were significantly influenced by all 3 temporal effects, with substantial variation in the importance and nature of each effect among locations. The complexity of the temporal effects on foraging is likely due to the patchy nature of prey distributions and shows how foraging is highly variable at fine scales. Foraging rates were highest at the hotspots, suggesting that feeding opportunities shape fine-scale distribution in Hector’s dolphin. Foraging can be disrupted by anthropogenic influences. Thus, information from this study can be used to manage threats to this vital behaviour in the locations and at the times where it is most prevalent.


Author(s):  
Anaïs Janc ◽  
Christophe Guinet ◽  
David Pinaud ◽  
Gaëtan Richard ◽  
Pascal Monestiez ◽  
...  

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