Collaborative Research: Foraging Ecology and Physiology of the Leopard Seal

该研究项目是一项多学科的努力，汇集了来自多个机构的不同科学家团队，以了解豹海豹的觅食行为和生理学及其在南大洋食物网中的作用。 该项目将研究豹海豹的生理和行为，以确定它们对栖息地和觅食区潜在变化的反应能力。该小组将利用卫星跟踪设备研究豹海豹的运动和潜水行为，并将这些信息与它们的生理能力测量相结合。 该项目将确定以各种猎物为食的豹海豹是否与它们的深潜亲戚威德尔海豹和以鱼类和鱿鱼为食的象海豹不同。 研究小组还将确定海豹是否在或接近其生理能力的情况下活动，以确定有多少，如果有的话？储备能力？它们可能不得不在不断变化的环境中觅食和生活。 更好地了解它们的活动范围，运动模式和一般行为也将有助于管理人类与豹海豹的互动。该项目的数据和分析具有高度直观性，适合于公众和教育展示和推广，特别是因为它们与不断变化的南极生境有关。该项目将利用研究结果教育公众了解潜水海洋哺乳动物对极端环境的独特生理和生态适应，包括适应低氧条件下的运动和能量利用，这影响并决定了这些特殊生物的生活方式。该项目的成果还将有助于更广泛的了解，从而可能加强海洋生物资源管理的目标，海豹是南极生态系统中的顶级捕食者。该项目旨在更好地了解豹海豹科普不断变化的环境的能力。 该项目将首先利用卫星遥测技术研究豹海豹的觅食行为和栖息地利用情况。具体而言，卫星遥测标签将用于获取多年来个人的潜水概况和运动数据。然后将从生理样本（例如，血液、触须、鲸脂脂肪酸、稳定同位素、排泄物）。海洋学数据将与这些措施相结合，以开发栖息地模型，用于评估栖息地类型，栖息地利用，栖息地偏好和个别动物的家域。 将评价个体海豹的饲料组成，以确定特定动物是通才动物还是专科动物。第二，研究小组将调查使豹海豹成为顶级捕食者的生理适应，并确定豹海豹在多大程度上处于或接近其生理极限。将评估海豹的潜水行为和生理学（例如，将确定个别动物的有氧潜水极限和骨骼肌在缺氧条件下潜水的适应性）。来自时间-深度记录器的数据将用于确定个体海豹的觅食策略，这些潜水特征将与生理变量（例如，血容量，肌肉氧储存），以更好地了解觅食行为和生理之间的联系。研究小组将比较与前肢和后肢推进相关的游泳肌肉中的肌红蛋白储存，以及觅食时无氧代谢系统与有氧代谢系统的使用。

This research project is a multidisciplinary effort that brings together a diverse team of scientists from multiple institutions together to understand the foraging behavior and physiology of leopard seals and their role in the Southern Ocean food web. The project will examine the physiology and behavior of leopard seals to in an effort to determine their ability to respond to potential changes in their habitat and foraging areas. Using satellite tracking devices the team will examine the movement and diving behavior of leopard seals and couple this information with measurements of their physiological capacity. The project will determine whether leopard seals- who feed on diverse range of prey- are built differently than their deep diving relatives the Weddell and elephant seal who feed on fish and squid. The team will also determine whether leopard seals are operating at or near their physiological capability to determine how much, if any, ?reserve capacity? they might have to forage and live in changing environments. A better understanding of their home ranges, movement patterns, and general behavior will also be informative to help in managing human-leopard seal interactions. The highly visual nature of the data and analysis for this project lends itself to public and educational display and outreach, particularly as they relate to the changing Antarctic habitats. The project will use the research results to educate the public on the unique physiological and ecological adaptations to extreme environments seen in diving marine mammals, including adaptations to exercise under low oxygen conditions and energy utilization, which affect and dictate the lifestyle of these exceptional organisms. The results of the project will also contribute to the broader understanding that may enhance the aims of managing marine living resources.The leopard seal is an apex predator in the Antarctic ecosystem. This project seeks to better understand the ability of the leopard seal to cope with a changing environment. The project will first examine the foraging behavior and habitat utilization of leopard seals using satellite telemetry. Specifically, satellite telemetry tags will be used to obtain dive profiles and movement data for individuals across multiple years. Diet and trophic level positions across multiple temporal scales will then be determined from physiological samples (e.g., blood, vibrissae, blubber fatty acids, stable isotopes, fecal matter). Oceanographic data will be integrated with these measures to develop habitat models that will be used to assess habitat type, habitat utilization, habitat preference, and home range areas for individual animals. Diet composition for individual seals will be evaluated to determine whether specific animals are generalists or specialists. Second, the team will investigate the physiological adaptations that allow leopard seals to be apex predators and determine to what extent leopard seals are working at or near their physiological limit. Diving behavior and physiology of leopard seals will be evaluated (for instance the aerobic dive limit for individual animals and skeletal muscle adaptations will be determined for diving under hypoxic conditions). Data from time-depth recorders will be used to determine foraging strategies for individual seals, and these diving characteristics will be related to physiological variables (e.g., blood volume, muscle oxygen stores) to better understand the link between foraging behavior and physiology. The team will compare myoglobin storage in swimming muscles associated with both forelimb and hind limb propulsion and the use of anaerobic versus aerobic metabolic systems while foraging.