Collaborative Research: Hunting in Darkness: Behavioral and Energetic Strategies of Weddell Seals in Winter

智力优势：韦德尔海豹(Leptonychotes Wedellii)全年都在坚冰下寻找和捕获稀疏分布和活动的猎物，包括南半球冬季，那时环境光线很低，进入呼吸孔的机会非常有限。这是水生哺乳动物捕食者所处的最具挑战性的环境之一，它提供了独特的机会来检验关于以下假设的假设：1)觅食的行为策略和能量成本；2)在海冰下捕获猎物所使用的感觉方式。为了实现这些目标，我们将在秋季、冬季和早春在自由活动的韦德尔海豹的背面安装数字视频和数据记录器。这些仪器同时记录猎物追逐和捕获的视频以及三维运动、游泳表现、环境光线水平等环境变量。整个潜水和部分潜水的能量成本将根据划水努力和我们公布的韦德尔海豹游泳表现和能量之间的关系进行估计。将对不同潜水类型的能量成本进行评估，以最大限度地提高觅食效率、航行距离和潜水持续时间。这项拟议的研究将更深入地了解视觉和不断变化的光照条件在威德尔海豹觅食行为、感觉生态学、能量学和栖息地利用以及遇到的猎物的分布中所起的作用。它还将为威德尔海豹全年栖息在南极沿海海洋生态系统的生存策略提供新的见解。更广泛的影响：拟议的研究将培养两名研究生和一名博士后研究员。外展活动将包括采访、向印刷和电子媒体提供的书面材料和照片、项目网站、麦克默多电台的高中电子邮件交流、接待野战夏令营的来访艺术家以及公开讲座。我们将通过我们的网站向小学项目的教师和学生提供每周一次的研究成果摘要，其中一个网站获得了教育奖。我们以前的项目吸引了大量的新闻报道，有效地将科学研究带给了公众。这一报道和我们工作产生的视频图像激发了人们的想象力，有助于向儿童和成年人灌输对科学和野生动物保护的兴趣。

AbstractIntellectual Merit: Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) locate and capture sparsely distributed and mobile prey under shore-fast ice throughout the year, including the austral winter when ambient light levels are very low and access to breathing holes is highly limited. This is one of the most challenging environments occupied by an aquatic mammalian predator, and it presents unique opportunities to test hypotheses concerning: 1) behavioral strategies and energetic costs for foraging and 2) sensory modalities used for prey capture under sea ice. To accomplish these objectives, we will attach digital video and data recorders to the backs of free-ranging Weddell seals during the autumn, winter and early spring. These instruments simultaneously record video of prey pursuit and capture and three-dimensional movements, swimming performance, ambient light level and other environmental variables. Energetic costs for entire dives and portions of dives will be estimated from stroking effort and our published relationship between swimming performance and energetics for Weddell seals. The energetic cost of different dive types will be evaluated for strategies that maximize foraging efficiency, range (distance traveled), and duration of submergence. The proposed study will provide a more thorough understanding of the role of vision and changing light conditions in foraging behavior, sensory ecology, energetics and habitat use of Weddell seals and the distribution of encountered prey. It also will provide new insights into survival strategies that allow Weddell seals to inhabit the Antarctic coastal marine ecosystem throughout the year. Broader Impacts: The proposed study will train two graduate students and a Post-doctoral Fellow. Outreach activities will include interviews, written material and photographs provided to print and electronic media, project web sites, high school email exchanges from McMurdo Station, hosting visiting artists at our field camp, and public lectures. We will provide a weekly summary of our research findings to teachers and students in elementary school programs through our websites, one of which received an educational award. Our previous projects have attracted an extraordinary amount of press coverage that effectively brings scientific research to the public. This coverage and the video images generated by our work excite the imagination and help instill an interest in science and wildlife conservation in children and adults.