1
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Meyers N, Speakman CN, Dorville NASY, Hindell MA, Semmens JM, Monk J, Baylis AMM, Ierodiaconou D, Hoskins AJ, Marshall GJ, Abernathy K, Arnould JPY. The cost of a meal: factors influencing prey profitability in Australian fur seals. PeerJ 2021; 9:e12608. [PMID: 34966597 PMCID: PMC8667761 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowledge of the factors shaping the foraging behaviour of species is central to understanding their ecosystem role and predicting their response to environmental variability. To maximise survival and reproduction, foraging strategies must balance the costs and benefits related to energy needed to pursue, manipulate, and consume prey with the nutritional reward obtained. While such information is vital for understanding how changes in prey assemblages may affect predators, determining these components is inherently difficult in cryptic predators. The present study used animal-borne video data loggers to investigate the costs and benefits related to different prey types for female Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus), a primarily benthic foraging species in the low productivity Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia. A total of 1,263 prey captures, resulting from 2,027 prey detections, were observed in 84.5 h of video recordings from 23 individuals. Substantial differences in prey pursuit and handling times, gross energy gain and total energy expenditure were observed between prey types. Importantly, the profitability of prey was not significantly different between prey types, with the exception of elasmobranchs. This study highlights the benefit of animal-borne video data loggers for understanding the factors that influence foraging decisions in predators. Further studies incorporating search times for different prey types would further elucidate how profitability differs with prey type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelle Meyers
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.,Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Ostend, Belgium.,Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Ostend, Belgium
| | - Cassie N Speakman
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
| | - Nicole A S-Y Dorville
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Biology, Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Mark A Hindell
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Jayson M Semmens
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Jacquomo Monk
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Alistair M M Baylis
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.,South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute, Stanley, Falkland Islands
| | - Daniel Ierodiaconou
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew J Hoskins
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.,CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
| | - Greg J Marshall
- Exploration Technology Lab, National Geographic Society, Washington D.C., United States of America
| | - Kyler Abernathy
- Exploration Technology Lab, National Geographic Society, Washington D.C., United States of America
| | - John P Y Arnould
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
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2
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Schwarz JFL, Mews S, DeRango EJ, Langrock R, Piedrahita P, Páez-Rosas D, Krüger O. Individuality counts: A new comprehensive approach to foraging strategies of a tropical marine predator. Oecologia 2021; 195:313-325. [PMID: 33491108 PMCID: PMC7882564 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-04850-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Foraging strategies are of great ecological interest, as they have a strong impact on the fitness of an individual and can affect its ability to cope with a changing environment. Recent studies on foraging strategies show a higher complexity than previously thought due to intraspecific variability. To reliably identify foraging strategies and describe the different foraging niches they allow individual animals to realize, high-resolution multivariate approaches which consider individual variation are required. Here we dive into the foraging strategies of Galápagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki), a tropical predator confronted with substantial annual variation in sea surface temperature. This affects prey abundance, and El Niño events, expected to become more frequent and severe with climate change, are known to have dramatic effects on sea lions. This study used high-resolution measures of depth, GPS position and acceleration collected from 39 lactating sea lion females to analyze their foraging strategies at an unprecedented level of detail using a novel combination of automated broken stick algorithm, hierarchical cluster analysis and individually fitted multivariate hidden Markov models. We found three distinct foraging strategies (pelagic, benthic, and night divers), which differed in their horizontal, vertical and temporal distribution, most likely corresponding to different prey species, and allowed us to formulate hypotheses with regard to adaptive values under different environmental scenarios. We demonstrate the advantages of our multivariate approach and inclusion of individual variation to reliably gain a deeper understanding of the adaptive value and ecological relevance of foraging strategies of marine predators in dynamic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas F L Schwarz
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
| | - Sina Mews
- Department of Business Administration and Economics, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Eugene J DeRango
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Roland Langrock
- Department of Business Administration and Economics, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Paolo Piedrahita
- Facultad de Ciencias de La Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, Guayaquil, Ecuador
| | - Diego Páez-Rosas
- Galápagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Ecuador.,Dirección Parque Nacional Galápagos, Unidad Técnica Operativa San Cristóbal, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, Ecuador
| | - Oliver Krüger
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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3
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Kirkman SP, Costa DP, Harrison AL, Kotze PGH, Oosthuizen WH, Weise M, Botha JA, Arnould JPY. Dive behaviour and foraging effort of female Cape fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:191369. [PMID: 31824733 PMCID: PMC6837185 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
While marine top predators can play a critical role in ecosystem structure and dynamics through their effects on prey populations, how the predators function in this role is often not well understood. In the Benguela region of southern Africa, the Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) population constitutes the largest marine top predator biomass, but little is known of its foraging ecology other than its diet and some preliminary dive records. Dive information was obtained from 32 adult females instrumented with dive recorders at the Kleinsee colony (29°34.17' S, 16°59.80' E) in South Africa during 2006-2008. Most dives were in the depth range of epipelagic prey species (less than 50 m deep) and at night, reflecting the reliance of Cape fur seals on small, vertically migrating, schooling prey. However, most females also performed benthic dives, and benthic diving was prevalent in some individuals. Benthic diving was significantly associated with the frequency with which females exceeded their aerobic dive limit. The greater putative costs of benthic diving highlight the potential detrimental effects to Cape fur seals of well-documented changes in the availability of epipelagic prey species in the Benguela.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. P. Kirkman
- Oceans and Coastal Research, Department of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Private Bag X4390, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
- Marine Apex Predator Research Unit (MAPRU), Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
| | - D. P. Costa
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - A.-L. Harrison
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20008, USA
| | - P. G. H. Kotze
- Oceans and Coastal Research, Department of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Private Bag X4390, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
| | - W. H. Oosthuizen
- Oceans and Coastal Research, Department of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Private Bag X4390, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
| | - M. Weise
- Office of Naval Research—Code 32, 875 North Randolph Street, Arlington, VA 22203-1995, USA
| | - J. A. Botha
- Marine Apex Predator Research Unit (MAPRU), Institute for Coastal and Marine Research, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
| | - J. P. Y. Arnould
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
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4
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Bidder OR, Goulding C, Toledo A, van Walsum TA, Siebert U, Halsey LG. Does the Treadmill Support Valid Energetics Estimates of Field Locomotion? Integr Comp Biol 2018; 57:301-319. [PMID: 28859410 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icx038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
SYNOPSIS Quantifying animal energy expenditure during locomotion in the field is generally based either on treadmill measurements or on estimates derived from a measured proxy. Two common proxies are heart rate (ƒH) and dynamic body acceleration (accelerometry). Both ƒH and accelerometry have been calibrated extensively under laboratory conditions, which typically involve prompting the animal to locomote on a treadmill at different speeds while simultaneously recording its rate of oxygen uptake (V̇o2) and the proxy. Field estimates of V̇o2 during locomotion obtained directly from treadmill running or from treadmill-calibrated proxies make assumptions about similarities between running in the field and in the laboratory. The present study investigated these assumptions, focusing on humans as a tractable species. First we investigated experimentally if and how the rate of energy expenditure during treadmill locomotion differs to that during field locomotion at the same speeds, with participants walking and running on a treadmill, on tarmac, and on grass, while wearing a mobile respirometry system. V̇o2 was substantially higher during locomotion in both of the field conditions compared with on a level treadmill: 9.1% on tarmac and 17.7% on grass. Second, we included these data in a meta-analysis of previous, related studies. The results were influenced by the studies excluded due to particulars of the experiment design, suggesting that participant age, the surface type, and the degree of turning during field locomotion may influence by how much treadmill and field locomotion V̇o2 differ. Third, based on our experiments described earlier, we investigated the accuracy of treadmill-calibrated accelerometry and ƒH for estimating V̇o2 in the field. The mean algebraic estimate errors varied between 10% and 35%, with the ƒH associated errors being larger than those derived from accelerometry. The mean algebraic errors were all underestimates of field V̇o2, by around 10% for fH and varying between 0% and 15% for accelerometry. Researchers should question and consider how accurately a treadmill-derived proxy calibration of V̇o2 will estimate V̇o2 during terrestrial locomotion in free-living animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Owen R Bidder
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Werftstr. 6, Büsum 25761, Germany.,Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Colette Goulding
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London SW15?4JD, UK
| | - Alejandra Toledo
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London SW15?4JD, UK
| | - Tessa A van Walsum
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London SW15?4JD, UK
| | - Ursula Siebert
- Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Werftstr. 6, Büsum 25761, Germany
| | - Lewis G Halsey
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London SW15?4JD, UK
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5
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Cox SL, Orgeret F, Gesta M, Rodde C, Heizer I, Weimerskirch H, Guinet C, O'Hara RB. Processing of acceleration and dive data on-board satellite relay tags to investigate diving and foraging behaviour in free-ranging marine predators. Methods Ecol Evol 2018; 9:64-77. [PMID: 29456829 PMCID: PMC5812097 DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Biologging technologies are changing the way in which the marine environment is observed and monitored. However, because device retrieval is typically required to access the high-resolution data they collect, their use is generally restricted to those animals that predictably return to land. Data abstraction and transmission techniques aim to address this, although currently these are limited in scope and do not incorporate, for example, acceleration measurements which can quantify animal behaviours and movement patterns over fine-scales.In this study, we present a new method for the collection, abstraction and transmission of accelerometer data from free-ranging marine predators via the Argos satellite system. We test run the technique on 20 juvenile southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina from the Kerguelen Islands during their first months at sea following weaning. Using retrieved archival data from nine individuals that returned to the colony, we compare and validate abstracted transmissions against outputs from established accelerometer processing procedures.Abstracted transmissions included estimates, across five segments of a dive profile, of time spent in prey catch attempt (PrCA) behaviours, swimming effort and pitch. These were then summarised and compared to archival outputs across three dive phases: descent, bottom and ascent. Correlations between the two datasets were variable but generally good (dependent on dive phase, marginal R2 values of between .45 and .6 to >.9) and consistent between individuals. Transmitted estimates of PrCA behaviours and swimming effort were positively biased to those from archival processing.Data from this study represent some of the first remotely transmitted quantifications from accelerometers. The methods presented and analysed can be used to provide novel insight towards the behaviours and movements of free-ranging marine predators, such as juvenile southern elephant seals, from whom logger retrieval is challenging. Future applications could however benefit from some adaption, particularly to reduce positive bias in transmitted PrCA behaviours and swimming effort, for which this study provides useful insight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam L. Cox
- Centre d'Etudes Biologique de ChizéU.M.R. 7372 – CNRS & Universitié de La RochelleVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
| | - Florian Orgeret
- Centre d'Etudes Biologique de ChizéU.M.R. 7372 – CNRS & Universitié de La RochelleVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
| | - Mathieu Gesta
- Centre d'Etudes Biologique de ChizéU.M.R. 7372 – CNRS & Universitié de La RochelleVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
| | - Charles Rodde
- Centre d'Etudes Biologique de ChizéU.M.R. 7372 – CNRS & Universitié de La RochelleVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
| | | | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologique de ChizéU.M.R. 7372 – CNRS & Universitié de La RochelleVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
| | - Christophe Guinet
- Centre d'Etudes Biologique de ChizéU.M.R. 7372 – CNRS & Universitié de La RochelleVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
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6
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Ladds MA, Rosen DAS, Slip DJ, Harcourt RG. Proxies of energy expenditure for marine mammals: an experimental test of "the time trap". Sci Rep 2017; 7:11815. [PMID: 28924150 PMCID: PMC5603582 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-11576-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 08/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Direct measures of energy expenditure are difficult to obtain in marine mammals, and accelerometry may be a useful proxy. Recently its utility has been questioned as some analyses derived their measure of activity level by calculating the sum of accelerometry-based values and then comparing this summation to summed (total) energy expenditure (the so-called “time trap”). To test this hypothesis, we measured oxygen consumption of captive fur seals and sea lions wearing accelerometers during submerged swimming and calculated total and rate of energy expenditure. We compared these values with two potential proxies of energy expenditure derived from accelerometry data: flipper strokes and dynamic body acceleration (DBA). Total number of strokes, total DBA, and submergence time all predicted total oxygen consumption \documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$({\boldsymbol{sV}}{{\boldsymbol{O}}}_{{\boldsymbol{2}}}$$\end{document}(sVO2 ml kg−1). However, both total DBA and total number of strokes were correlated with submergence time. Neither stroke rate nor mean DBA could predict the rate of oxygen consumption (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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\begin{document}$$s\mathop{{\boldsymbol{V}}}\limits^{{\boldsymbol{.}}}{{\boldsymbol{O}}}_{{\boldsymbol{2}}}$$\end{document}sV.O2 ml min−1 kg−1). The relationship of total DBA and total strokes with total oxygen consumption is apparently a result of introducing a constant (time) into both sides of the relationship. This experimental evidence supports the conclusion that proxies derived from accelerometers cannot estimate the energy expenditure of marine mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monique A Ladds
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand. .,Marine Predator Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, 2113, NSW, Australia.
| | - David A S Rosen
- Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - David J Slip
- Marine Predator Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, 2113, NSW, Australia.,Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Bradley's Head Road, Mosman, 2088, NSW, Australia
| | - Robert G Harcourt
- Marine Predator Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, 2113, NSW, Australia
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7
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Halsey LG. Relationships grow with time: a note of caution about energy expenditure‐proxy correlations, focussing on accelerometry as an example. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lewis G. Halsey
- University of Roehampton Holybourne Avenue LondonSW15 4JD UK
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8
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Rosen DAS, Hindle AG, Gerlinsky CD, Goundie E, Hastie GD, Volpov BL, Trites AW. Physiological constraints and energetic costs of diving behaviour in marine mammals: a review of studies using trained Steller sea lions diving in the open ocean. J Comp Physiol B 2016; 187:29-50. [PMID: 27686668 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-016-1035-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2016] [Revised: 08/26/2016] [Accepted: 09/13/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Marine mammals are characterized as having physiological specializations that maximize the use of oxygen stores to prolong time spent under water. However, it has been difficult to undertake the requisite controlled studies to determine the physiological limitations and trade-offs that marine mammals face while diving in the wild under varying environmental and nutritional conditions. For the past decade, Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) trained to swim and dive in the open ocean away from the physical confines of pools participated in studies that investigated the interactions between diving behaviour, energetic costs, physiological constraints, and prey availability. Many of these studies measured the cost of diving to understand how it varies with behaviour and environmental and physiological conditions. Collectively, these studies show that the type of diving (dive bouts or single dives), the level of underwater activity, the depth and duration of dives, and the nutritional status and physical condition of the animal affect the cost of diving and foraging. They show that dive depth, dive and surface duration, and the type of dive result in physiological adjustments (heart rate, gas exchange) that may be independent of energy expenditure. They also demonstrate that changes in prey abundance and nutritional status cause sea lions to alter the balance between time spent at the surface acquiring oxygen (and offloading CO2 and other metabolic by-products) and time spent at depth acquiring prey. These new insights into the physiological basis of diving behaviour further our understanding of the potential scope for behavioural responses of marine mammals to environmental changes, the energetic significance of these adjustments, and the consequences of approaching physiological limits.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A S Rosen
- Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
| | - Allyson G Hindle
- Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Carling D Gerlinsky
- Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Goundie
- Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Gordon D Hastie
- Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Beth L Volpov
- Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Andrew W Trites
- Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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9
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Stothart MR, Elliott KH, Wood T, Hatch SA, Speakman JR. Counting calories in cormorants: dynamic body acceleration predicts daily energy expenditure measured in pelagic cormorants. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 219:2192-200. [PMID: 27207639 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.130526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The integral of the dynamic component of acceleration over time has been proposed as a measure of energy expenditure in wild animals. We tested that idea by attaching accelerometers to the tails of free-ranging pelagic cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) and simultaneously estimating energy expenditure using doubly labelled water. Two different formulations of dynamic body acceleration, [vectorial and overall DBA (VeDBA and ODBA)], correlated with mass-specific energy expenditure (both R(2)=0.91). VeDBA models combining and separately parameterizing flying, diving, activity on land and surface swimming were consistently considered more parsimonious than time budget models and showed less variability in model fit. Additionally, we observed evidence for the presence of hypometabolic processes (i.e. reduced heart rate and body temperature; shunting of blood away from non-essential organs) that suppressed metabolism in cormorants while diving, which was the most metabolically important activity. We concluded that a combination of VeDBA and physiological processes accurately measured energy expenditure for cormorants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mason R Stothart
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada N1G 2K8
| | - Kyle H Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada H9X 3V9
| | - Thomas Wood
- Department of Biology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 2N2
| | - Scott A Hatch
- Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation, Anchorage, AK 99516-9951, USA
| | - John R Speakman
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland AB24 2TZ, UK State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China
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10
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Hays GC, Ferreira LC, Sequeira AMM, Meekan MG, Duarte CM, Bailey H, Bailleul F, Bowen WD, Caley MJ, Costa DP, Eguíluz VM, Fossette S, Friedlaender AS, Gales N, Gleiss AC, Gunn J, Harcourt R, Hazen EL, Heithaus MR, Heupel M, Holland K, Horning M, Jonsen I, Kooyman GL, Lowe CG, Madsen PT, Marsh H, Phillips RA, Righton D, Ropert-Coudert Y, Sato K, Shaffer SA, Simpfendorfer CA, Sims DW, Skomal G, Takahashi A, Trathan PN, Wikelski M, Womble JN, Thums M. Key Questions in Marine Megafauna Movement Ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 2016; 31:463-475. [PMID: 26979550 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 187] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2015] [Revised: 02/16/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2016] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
It is a golden age for animal movement studies and so an opportune time to assess priorities for future work. We assembled 40 experts to identify key questions in this field, focussing on marine megafauna, which include a broad range of birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish. Research on these taxa has both underpinned many of the recent technical developments and led to fundamental discoveries in the field. We show that the questions have broad applicability to other taxa, including terrestrial animals, flying insects, and swimming invertebrates, and, as such, this exercise provides a useful roadmap for targeted deployments and data syntheses that should advance the field of movement ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graeme C Hays
- Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Warrnambool, VIC 3280, Australia.
| | - Luciana C Ferreira
- IOMRC and The UWA Oceans Institute, School of Animal Biology and Centre for Marine Futures, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; Australian Institute of Marine Science, c/o The UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Ana M M Sequeira
- IOMRC and The UWA Oceans Institute, School of Animal Biology and Centre for Marine Futures, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Mark G Meekan
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, c/o The UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Carlos M Duarte
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Helen Bailey
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD 20688, USA
| | - Fred Bailleul
- South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences), 2 Hamra Avenue, West Beach, Adelaide, SA 5024, Australia
| | - W Don Bowen
- Population Ecology Division, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2, Canada
| | - M Julian Caley
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, Australia; Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia
| | - Daniel P Costa
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - Victor M Eguíluz
- Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos IFISC (CSIC-UIB), E-07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Sabrina Fossette
- School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Ari S Friedlaender
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, 2030 Marine Science Drive, Newport, OR 97365, USA
| | - Nick Gales
- Australian Antarctic Division, Department of the Environment, Australian Government, Kingston, TAS 7050, Australia
| | - Adrian C Gleiss
- Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
| | - John Gunn
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia
| | - Rob Harcourt
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Elliott L Hazen
- Environmental Research Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 99 Pacific St, Suite 255A, Monterey, CA 93940, USA
| | - Michael R Heithaus
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174, USA
| | - Michelle Heupel
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia; Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - Kim Holland
- Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, PO Box 1346, Kaneohe, HI 98744, USA
| | - Markus Horning
- Science Department, Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward, AK 99664, USA
| | - Ian Jonsen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Gerald L Kooyman
- Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA 92093, USA
| | - Christopher G Lowe
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA
| | - Peter T Madsen
- Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, DK 8000, Denmark; Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Perth, WA 6150, Australia
| | - Helene Marsh
- College of Marine and Environmental Science, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4810, Australia
| | - Richard A Phillips
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK
| | - David Righton
- Fisheries and Ecosystems Division, Cefas Laboratory, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, NR34 7RU, UK
| | - Yan Ropert-Coudert
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, Station d'Écologie de Chizé-Université de La Rochelle, CNRS UMR 7372, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Katsufumi Sato
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, 277-8564, Japan
| | - Scott A Shaffer
- Department of Biological Sciences, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192-0100, USA
| | - Colin A Simpfendorfer
- Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, and College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
| | - David W Sims
- Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK; Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK; Centre for Biological Sciences, Building 85, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Gregory Skomal
- Massachusetts Shark Research Project, Division of Marine Fisheries, 1213 Purchase St, New Bedford, MA 02740, USA
| | - Akinori Takahashi
- National Institute of Polar Research, Tachikawa, Tokyo 190-8518, Japan
| | - Philip N Trathan
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration and ImmunoEcology, Max-Planck Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Konstanz University, Department of Biology, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Jamie N Womble
- National Park Service, Glacier Bay Field Station, 3100 National Park Road, Juneau, AK 99801, USA
| | - Michele Thums
- Australian Institute of Marine Science, c/o The UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
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Goundie ET, Rosen DAS, Trites AW. Dive behaviour can predict metabolic expenditure in Steller sea lions. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2015; 3:cov052. [PMID: 27293736 PMCID: PMC4778462 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cov052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2015] [Revised: 10/14/2015] [Accepted: 10/27/2015] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Quantification of costs associated with foraging contributes to understanding the energetic impact that changes in prey availability have on the energy balance of an animal and the fitness of populations. However, estimating the costs of foraging is difficult for breath-hold divers, such as Steller sea lions, that feed underwater. We developed models parameterized with data from free-diving captive Steller sea lions to estimate the costs incurred by wild animals while foraging. We measured diving metabolic rate of trained sea lions performing four types of dives to 10 and 40 m in the open ocean and estimated the separate costs of different dive components: surface time; bottom time; and transiting to and from depth. We found that the sea lions' diving metabolic rates were higher while transiting (20.5 ± 13.0 ml O2 min(-1) kg(-1)) than while swimming at depth (13.5 ± 4.1 ml O2 min(-1) kg(-1)), and both were higher than metabolism at the surface (9.2 ± 1.6 ml O2 min(-1) kg(-1)). These values were incorporated into an energetic model that accurately predicted oxygen consumption for dives only (within 9.5%) and dive cycles (within 7.7%), although it consistently overestimated costs by 5.9% for dives and 21.8% for dive cycles. Differences in the costs of individual components of dives also explained differences in the efficiency of different dive strategies. Single dives were energetically less costly than bout dives; however, sea lions were more efficient at replenishing oxygen stores after bout dives and could therefore spend a greater portion of their time foraging than when undertaking single dives. The metabolic rates we measured for the different behavioural components of diving can be applied to time-depth recordings from wild Steller sea lions to estimate the energy expended while foraging. In turn, this can be used to understand how changes in prey availability affect energy balance and the health of individuals in declining populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth T Goundie
- Department of Zoology and Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - David A S Rosen
- Department of Zoology and Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Andrew W Trites
- Department of Zoology and Marine Mammal Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
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