The Role of Oceanographic Features and Prey Distribution on Foraging Energetics and Reproductive Success of the Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus Gazella

海洋学特征和猎物分布对南极毛皮海豹（Arctocephalus Gazella）觅食能量和繁殖成功的作用

• 批准号: 9726567
• 负责人: Daniel Costa
• 金额: $ 28.2万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Cruz
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-09-01 至 2002-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9726567&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Role; Oceanographic; Features; Prey; Distribution

9726567 COSTA Marine coastal and pelagic environments of the Southern Ocean are characterized by seasonal high productivity. Over the last several decades it has become clear that these environments, while generally productive, also undergo considerable inter- and intra-annual variability. Consequently, available prey resources for vertebrate predators can be highly variable spatially and temporally. This spatial and temporal variability of prey resources has been measured empirically for the northern South Shetland Islands region of the Antarctic Peninsula since the late 1980's. The Antarctic fur seal, a sub-polar migratory otariid with a short lactation period, is an increasingly dominant marine predator of the South Shetlands region. Its life history is pattern is characterized by foraging trips alternating with short visits to provision a single offspring; this allows scientists to measure maternal investment on the same temporal and spatial scale as measurements of distribution and abundance of prey. This project will quantify the foraging costs and maternal investment associated with changes in strategies observed in populations of South Shetland Ataractic fur seals. Energetic costs and benefits of different foraging patterns with simultaneous measurement of energy expenditure, food intake, dive depth, dive duration, time of day, and dive frequency, swim speed and foraging location will be accomplished using state of the art techniques. These measurements will coincide with small and large scale oceanographic surveys to be conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Antarctic Marine Living Resources program, which is also contributing to the support of this project. The research will allow scientists to link biological characteristics (prey composition, distribution and abundance) and physical characteristics of the foraging environment with foraging success, maternal investment and reproductive success for a free-ranging marine ve rtebrate predator.

9726567 COSTA南大洋的沿海和远洋环境的特点是季节性的高生产力。在过去的几十年里，已经很清楚，这些环境虽然一般来说是多产的，但也经历了相当大的年际和年内变化。因此，脊椎动物捕食者可利用的猎物资源在空间和时间上都是高度可变的。自20世纪80年代末以来，对南极半岛南设得兰群岛北部地区的猎物资源的这种时空变异性进行了实证测量。南极海狗是一种哺乳期短的亚极地洄游动物，是南设得兰群岛地区日益占主导地位的海洋捕食动物。其生活史模式以觅食和短访交替进行为特征；这使得科学家们能够在同一时间和空间尺度上衡量母体的投资，就像测量猎物的分布和丰度一样。该项目将量化在南设得兰海域海豹种群中观察到的与策略变化相关的觅食成本和母性投资。通过同时测量能量消耗、食物摄入、潜水深度、潜水持续时间、一天中的时间、潜水频率、游泳速度和觅食地点，不同觅食模式的能量成本和收益将使用最先进的技术完成。这些测量将与美国国家海洋和大气管理局南极海洋生物资源计划进行的小型和大型海洋学调查同时进行，该计划也为该项目提供支持。这项研究将使科学家们能够将生物特征（猎物组成、分布和数量）和觅食环境的物理特征与自由放养的海洋脊椎动物捕食者的觅食成功、母体投资和繁殖成功联系起来。