Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ., Paris 06, UMR 7159 CNRS-IRD-MNHN, LOCEAN-IPSL, 75005 Paris, France.
Marine Predator Unit, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 129, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2017 Feb 24;7:43236. doi: 10.1038/srep43236.
Contrasting regional changes in Southern Ocean sea ice have occurred over the last 30 years with distinct regional effects on ecosystem structure and function. Quantifying how Antarctic predators respond to such changes provides the context for predicting how climate variability/change will affect these assemblages into the future. Over an 11-year time-series, we examine how inter-annual variability in sea ice concentration and advance affect the foraging behaviour of a top Antarctic predator, the southern elephant seal. Females foraged longer in pack ice in years with greatest sea ice concentration and earliest sea ice advance, while males foraged longer in polynyas in years of lowest sea ice concentration. There was a positive relationship between near-surface meridional wind anomalies and female foraging effort, but not for males. This study reveals the complexities of foraging responses to climate forcing by a poleward migratory predator through varying sea ice property and dynamic anomalies.
过去 30 年来，南大洋海冰的区域性变化明显，对生态系统的结构和功能产生了不同的影响。量化南极捕食者对这些变化的反应，为预测气候变异性/变化将如何影响这些组合体提供了依据。在一个 11 年的时间序列中，我们研究了海冰浓度和推进的年际变化如何影响南极顶级捕食者——南方象海豹的觅食行为。在海冰浓度最高和海冰推进最早的年份，雌性在浮冰中觅食的时间更长，而在海冰浓度最低的年份，雄性在冰间湖觅食的时间更长。近地表经向风异常与雌性觅食努力呈正相关，但与雄性无关。本研究揭示了通过不同的海冰特性和动力异常，向极迁徙的捕食者对气候强迫的觅食反应的复杂性。
