| 1. |
- Azarian, Clara, et al.
(författare)
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Marine heatwaves and global warming impacts on winter waters in the Southern Indian Ocean
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Marine Systems. - 0924-7963. ; 243
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the Southern Ocean, the term “winter waters” (WWs) refers to a water mass characterized by a subsurface layer of minimum temperature that plays an important ecological role for marine ecosystems, and in particular for top predators. Given that the Southern Ocean is experiencing warming and intense marine heatwaves (MHWs), particularly at subantarctic latitudes, we investigate here how different levels of warming might impact the presence, depth and minimum temperature of WWs in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. In particular, we assess how WWs are impacted by surface MHWs using in situ Argo hydrographic observations and biologging data. The results indicate that WWs are substantially reduced, deeper and warmer during the presence of MHWs. Using the most recent climate projections, we find a significant, but scenario-dependent, southward shift of WWs under global warming. Potential impacts of such WW shifts on pelagic ecosystems, at different timescales (from daily to decadal), are discussed.
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| 2. |
- Foote, Andrew D., et al.
(författare)
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Killer whale genomes reveal a complex history of recurrent admixture and vicariance
- 2019
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - : WILEY. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 28:14, s. 3427-3444
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Reconstruction of the demographic and evolutionary history of populations assuming a consensus tree-like relationship can mask more complex scenarios, which are prevalent in nature. An emerging genomic toolset, which has been most comprehensively harnessed in the reconstruction of human evolutionary history, enables molecular ecologists to elucidate complex population histories. Killer whales have limited extrinsic barriers to dispersal and have radiated globally, and are therefore a good candidate model for the application of such tools. Here, we analyse a global data set of killer whale genomes in a rare attempt to elucidate global population structure in a nonhuman species. We identify a pattern of genetic homogenisation at lower latitudes and the greatest differentiation at high latitudes, even between currently sympatric lineages. The processes underlying the major axis of structure include high drift at the edge of species' range, likely associated with founder effects and allelic surfing during postglacial range expansion. Divergence between Antarctic and non-Antarctic lineages is further driven by ancestry segments with up to fourfold older coalescence time than the genome-wide average; relicts of a previous vicariance during an earlier glacial cycle. Our study further underpins that episodic gene flow is ubiquitous in natural populations, and can occur across great distances and after substantial periods of isolation between populations. Thus, understanding the evolutionary history of a species requires comprehensive geographic sampling and genome-wide data to sample the variation in ancestry within individuals.
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| 3. |
- Hindell, Mark A., et al.
(författare)
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Circumpolar habitat use in the southern elephant seal : implications for foraging success and population trajectories
- 2016
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Ingår i: Ecosphere. - : Wiley. - 2150-8925 .- 2150-8925. ; 7:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the Southern Ocean, wide-ranging predators offer the opportunity to quantify how animals respond to differences in the environment because their behavior and population trends are an integrated signal of prevailing conditions within multiple marine habitats. Southern elephant seals in particular, can provide useful insights due to their circumpolar distribution, their long and distant migrations and their performance of extended bouts of deep diving. Furthermore, across their range, elephant seal populations have very different population trends. In this study, we present a data set from the International Polar Year project; Marine Mammals Exploring the Oceans Pole to Pole for southern elephant seals, in which a large number of instruments (N = 287) deployed on animals, encompassing a broad circum-Antarctic geographic extent, collected in situ ocean data and at-sea foraging metrics that explicitly link foraging behavior and habitat structure in time and space. Broadly speaking, the seals foraged in two habitats, the relatively shallow waters of the Antarctic continental shelf and the Kerguelen Plateau and deep open water regions. Animals of both sexes were more likely to exhibit area-restricted search (ARS) behavior rather than transit in shelf habitats. While Antarctic shelf waters can be regarded as prime habitat for both sexes, female seals tend to move northwards with the advance of sea ice in the late autumn or early winter. The water masses used by the seals also influenced their behavioral mode, with female ARS behavior being most likely in modified Circumpolar Deepwater or northerly Modified Shelf Water, both of which tend to be associated with the outer reaches of the Antarctic Continental Shelf. The combined effects of (1) the differing habitat quality, (2) differing responses to encroaching ice as the winter progresses among colonies, (3) differing distances between breeding and haul-out sites and high quality habitats, and (4) differing long-term -regional trends in sea ice extent can explain the differing population trends observed among elephant seal colonies.
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| 4. |
- Labrousse, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Winter use of sea ice and ocean water mass habitat by southern elephant seals : The length and breadth of the mystery
- 2015
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Ingår i: Progress in Oceanography. - : Elsevier BV. - 0079-6611 .- 1873-4472. ; 137, s. 52-68
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding the responses of animals to the environment is crucial for identifying critical foraging habitat. Elephant seals (Mirounga leonine) from the Kerguelen Islands (49 degrees 20'S, 70 degrees 20'E) have several different foraging strategies. Why some individuals undertake long trips to the Antarctic continent while others utilize the relatively close frontal zones is poorly understood. Here, we investigate how physical properties within the sea ice zone are linked to foraging activities of southern elephant seals (SES). To do this, we first developed a new approach using indices of foraging derived from high temporal resolution dive and accelerometry data to predict foraging behaviour in an extensive, low resolution dataset from CTD-Satellite Relay Data Loggers (CTD-SRDLs). A sample of 37 post-breeding SES females were used to construct a predictive model applied to demersal and pelagic dive strategies relating prey encounter events (PEE) to dive parameters (dive duration, bottom duration, hunting-time, maximum depth, ascent speed, descent speed, sinuosity, and horizontal speed) for each strategy. We applied these models to a second sample of 35 seals, 20 males and 15 females, during the post-moult foraging trip to the Antarctic continental shelf between 2004 and 2013, which did not have fine-scale behavioural data. The females were widely distributed with important foraging activity south of the Southern Boundary Front, while males predominately travelled to the south-eastern part of the East Antarctica region. Combining our predictions of PEE with environmental features (sea ice concentration, water masses at the bottom phase of dives, bathymetry and slope index) we found higher foraging activity for females over shallower seabed depths and at the boundary between the overlying Antarctic Surface Water (AASW) and the underlying Modified Circumpolar Deep Water (MCDW). Increased biological activity associated with the upper boundary of MCDW, may provide overwintering areas for SES prey. Male foraging activity was strongly associated with pelagic dives within the Antarctic Slope Front where upwelling of nutrient rich Circumpolar Deep Water onto surface water may enhance and concentrate resources. A positive association between sea ice and foraging activity was found for both sexes where increased biological activity may sustain an under-ice ecosystem. Variability of the East Antarctic sea ice season duration is likely a crucial element to allow air-breathing predators to benefit from profitable prey patches within the pack ice habitat.
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| 5. |
- Mensah, Vigan, et al.
(författare)
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A Correction for the Thermal Mass-Induced Errors of CTD Tags Mounted on Marine Mammals
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology. - 0739-0572 .- 1520-0426. ; 35:6, s. 1237-1252
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effect of thermal mass on the salinity estimate from conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) tags sensor mounted on marine mammals is documented, and a correction scheme is proposed to mitigate its impact. The algorithm developed here allows for a direct correction of the salinity data, rather than a correction of the sample's conductivity and temperature. The amplitude of the thermal mass-induced error on salinity and its correction are evaluated via comparison between data from CTD tags and from Sea-Bird Scientific CTD used as a reference. Thermal mass error on salinity appears to be generally O(10(-2)) g kg(-1), it may reach O(10(-1)) g kg(-1), and it tends to increase together with the magnitude of the cumulated temperature gradient (T-HP) within the water column. The correction we propose yields an error decrease of up to similar to 60% if correction coefficients specific to a certain tag or environment are calculated, and up to 50% if a default value for the coefficients is provided. The correction with the default coefficients was also evaluated using over 22 000 in situ dive data from five tags deployed in the Southern Ocean and is found to yield significant and systematic improvements on the salinity data, including for profiles whose T-HP was weak and the error small. The correction proposed here yields substantial improvements in the density estimates, although a thermal mass-induced error in temperature measurements exists for very large T-HP and has yet to be corrected.
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| 6. |
- Roquet, Fabien, et al.
(författare)
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A Southern Indian Ocean database of hydrographic profiles obtained with instrumented elephant seals
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scientific Data. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2052-4463. ; 1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The instrumentation of southern elephant seals with satellite-linked CTD tags has offered unique temporal and spatial coverage of the Southern Indian Ocean since 2004. This includes extensive data from the Antarctic continental slope and shelf regions during the winter months, which is outside the conventional areas of Argo autonomous floats and ship-based studies. This landmark dataset of around 75,000 temperature and salinity profiles from 20–140 °E, concentrated on the sector between the Kerguelen Islands and Prydz Bay, continues to grow through the coordinated efforts of French and Australian marine research teams. The seal data are quality controlled and calibrated using delayed-mode techniques involving comparisons with other existing profiles as well as cross-comparisons similar to established protocols within the Argo community, with a resulting accuracy of ±0.03 °C in temperature and ±0.05 in salinity or better. The data offer invaluable new insights into the water masses, oceanographic processes and provides a vital tool for oceanographers seeking to advance our understanding of this key component of the global ocean climate.
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| 7. |
- Roquet, Fabien, et al.
(författare)
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Estimates of the Southern Ocean general circulation improved by animal-borne instruments
- 2013
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 40:23, s. 6176-6180
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over the last decade, several hundred seals have been equipped with conductivity-temperature-depth sensors in the Southern Ocean for both biological and physical oceanographic studies. A calibrated collection of seal-derived hydrographic data is now available, consisting of more than 165,000 profiles. The value of these hydrographic data within the existing Southern Ocean observing system is demonstrated herein by conducting two state estimation experiments, differing only in the use or not of seal data to constrain the system. Including seal-derived data substantially modifies the estimated surface mixed-layer properties and circulation patterns within and south of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Agreement with independent satellite observations of sea ice concentration is improved, especially along the East Antarctic shelf. Instrumented animals efficiently reduce a critical observational gap, and their contribution to monitoring polar climate variability will continue to grow as data accuracy and spatial coverage increase.
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| 8. |
- Treasure, Anne M., et al.
(författare)
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Marine Mammals Exploring the Oceans Pole to Pole A Review of the MEOP Consortium
- 2017
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Ingår i: Oceanography. - : The Oceanography Society. - 1042-8275. ; 30:2, s. 132-138
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Polar oceans are poorly monitored despite the important role they play in regulating Earth's climate system. Marine mammals equipped with biologging devices are now being used to fill the data gaps in these logistically difficult to sample regions. Since 2002, instrumented animals have been generating exceptionally large data sets of oceanographic CTD casts (>500,000 profiles), which are now freely available to the scientific community through the MEOP data portal (http://meop.net). MEOP (Marine Mammals Exploring the Oceans Pole to Pole) is a consortium of international researchers dedicated to sharing animal-derived data and knowledge about the polar oceans. Collectively, MEOP demonstrates the power and cost-effectiveness of using marine mammals as data-collection platforms that can dramatically improve the ocean observing system for biological and physical oceanographers. Here, we review the MEOP program and database to bring it to the attention of the international community.
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