Preferred, small-scale foraging areas of two Southern Ocean fur seal species are not determined by habitat characteristics.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To understand and predict the distribution of foragers, it is crucial to identify the factors that affect individual movement decisions at different scales. Individuals are expected to adjust their foraging movements to the hierarchical spatial distribution of resources. At a small local scale, spatial segregation in foraging habitat happens among individuals of closely situated colonies. If foraging segregation is due to differences in distribution of resources, we would expect segregated foraging areas to have divergent habitat characteristics.

Results

We investigated how environmental characteristics of preferred foraging areas differ between two closely situated Subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) colonies and a single Antarctic fur seal (A. gazel

SUBMITTER: Wege M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6739983 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature