Insights from the first global population estimate of Weddell seals in Antarctica

Type of content
Journal Article
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
eng
Date
2021
Authors
Salas L
Nur N
Ainley D
Stammerjohn S
Pennycook J
Dozier M
Saints J
Stamatiou K
Barrington L
Rotella J
Abstract

The Weddell seal is one of the best-studied marine mammals in the world, owing to a multidecadal demographic effort in the southernmost part of its range. Despite their occurrence around the Antarctic coastline, we know little about larger scale patterns in distribution, population size, or structure. We combined high-resolution satellite imagery from 2011, crowd-sourcing, and habitat modeling to report the first global population estimate for the species and environmental factors that influence its distribution. We estimated ~202,000 (95% confidence interval: 85,345 to 523,140) sub-adult and adult female seals, with proximate ocean depth and fast-ice variables as factors explaining spatial prevalence. Distances to penguin colonies were associated with seal presence, but only emperor penguin population size had a strong negative relationship. The small, estimated population size relative to previous estimates and the seals' nexus with trophic competitors indicates that a community ecology approach is required in efforts to monitor the Southern Ocean ecosystem.

Description
Citation
LaRue M, Salas L, Nur N, Ainley D, Stammerjohn S, Pennycook J, Dozier M, Saints J, Stamatiou K, Barrington L, Rotella J (2021). Insights from the first global population estimate of Weddell seals in Antarctica. Science Advances. 7(39). eabh3674-.
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Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Fields of Research::31 - Biological sciences
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All rights reserved unless otherwise stated