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March D, Drago M, Gazo M, Parga M, Rita D, Cardona L. Winter distribution of juvenile and sub-adult male Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22234. [PMID: 34782702 PMCID: PMC8593074 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01700-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Detailed knowledge of habitat use by marine megafauna is critical to understand their ecological roles and for the adequate management of marine resources. Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) inhabiting the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean prey largely on Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and play a central role in managing the krill fishery. Here, we assessed the demographic structure of three post-mating, early moult male haul-outs in the South Shetland Islands in early March and calculated the relative contribution of juveniles (1–4 years old) and sub-adult males (5–6 years) to the population remaining in maritime Antarctica after the breeding season. We also satellite tagged 11 juvenile males and four sub-adult males to analyze their movements and develop a species distribution model including both age classes. Our results highlighted the dominance of young individuals in the male population, revealed that they do not behave as central place foragers and identified key environmental drivers that affected their distribution at-sea throughout winter. Predicted potential foraging habitat overlapped highly with the known distribution of Antarctic krill, and identified the waters off the western Antarctic Peninsula and the Scotia Sea as the core of the distribution area of juvenile and sub-adult male Antarctic fur seals in winter. This pattern is similar to that of adult males but totally different from that of adult females, as the latter overwinter in areas at latitude 45–55° S. This segregation has implications for the ecology and management of the krill fishery.
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Affiliation(s)
- David March
- IRBio and Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. .,Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK.
| | - Massimiliano Drago
- IRBio and Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manel Gazo
- IRBio and Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mariluz Parga
- SUBMON - Marine Environmental Services, Ortigosa 14, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Diego Rita
- IRBio and Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luis Cardona
- IRBio and Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
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Fish prey of sub-Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus tropicalis at the Tristan da Cunha Islands, South Atlantic Ocean. Polar Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-021-02849-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Bestley S, Ropert-Coudert Y, Bengtson Nash S, Brooks CM, Cotté C, Dewar M, Friedlaender AS, Jackson JA, Labrousse S, Lowther AD, McMahon CR, Phillips RA, Pistorius P, Puskic PS, Reis AODA, Reisinger RR, Santos M, Tarszisz E, Tixier P, Trathan PN, Wege M, Wienecke B. Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean: Birds and Marine Mammals in a Changing Climate. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.566936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
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Wege M, Salas L, LaRue M. Citizen science and habitat modelling facilitates conservation planning for crabeater seals in the Weddell Sea. DIVERS DISTRIB 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mia Wege
- Gateway Antarctica Department of Geography School of Earth and Environment College of Science University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
| | - Leo Salas
- Point Blue Conservation Sciences Petaluma California USA
| | - Michelle LaRue
- Gateway Antarctica Department of Geography School of Earth and Environment College of Science University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
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