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Abstract

Contrasting regional changes in Southern Ocean sea ice have occurred over the last 30 years with distinct regional effects on ecosystem structure and function. Quantifying how Antarctic predators respond to such changes provides the context for predicting how climate variability/change will affect these assemblages into the future. Over an 11-year time-series, we examine how inter-annual variability in sea ice concentration and advance affect the foraging behaviour of a top Antarctic predator, the southern elephant seal. Females foraged longer in pack ice in years with greatest sea ice concentration and earliest sea ice advance, while males foraged longer in polynyas in years of lowest sea ice concentration. There was a positive relationship between near-surface meridional wind anomalies and female foraging effort, but not for males. This study reveals the complexities of foraging responses to climate forcing by a poleward migratory predator through varying sea ice property and dynamic anomalies.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Labrousse, S and Sallee, J-B and Fraser, AD and Massom, RA and Reid, P and Hobbs, W and Guinet, C and Harcourt, R and McMahon, C and Authier, M and Bailleul, F and Hindell, MA and Charrassin, J-B
Keywords:	behavioural ecology, climate-change ecology, sea ice, predator
Journal or Publication Title:	Scientific Reports
Publisher:	Nature Publishing Group
ISSN:	2045-2322
DOI / ID Number:	https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43236
Copyright Information:	Copyright 2017 The Authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Related URLs:	Google Scholar: Fraser, AD UTAS Profile: Hobbs, W UTAS Profile: McMahon, C Google Scholar: Hindell, MA UTAS Profile: Hindell, MA
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