Foraging behaviour of a continental shelf marine predator, the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), is associated with in situ, subsurface oceanographic conditions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The heterogeneous oceanographic conditions of continental shelf ecosystems result in a three-dimensionally patchy distribution of prey available to upper-trophic level predators. The association of bio-physical conditions with movement patterns of large marine predators has been demonstrated in diverse taxa. However, obtaining subsurface data that are spatio-temporally relevant to the decisions made by benthically-foraging species can be challenging.

Methods

Between 2009 and 2015, grey seals were captured on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada during summer and fall and instrumented with high-resolution archival GPS tags. These tags recorded location data as well as depth (m), temperature (°C), and light level measurements during dives, until animals returned to the

SUBMITTER: Nowak BVR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7574573 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature