Opinion: Projecting the effects of environmental change on Antarctic seals

Siniff, Donald B.; Garrott, Robert A.; Rotella, Jay J.; Fraser, William R.; Ainley, David G.

doi:10.1017/s0954102008001351

Cited by 119 publications

(147 citation statements)

References 85 publications

(124 reference statements)

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“…A recent study has demonstrated that females at Dumont d'Urville spend the winter pre-breeding period foraging over the shelf in heavy sea ice, at a moderate distance from the coast (Heerah et al 2013). As females haul out in September and October to give birth and do not forage during 3 to 4 wk postpartum (Siniff et al 2008), HBI markers in blubber may thus reflect their stored energy reserves and thus their close association with sea ice during energy acquisition and accumulation.…”

Section: Hbi Variation During the Breeding Seasonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Antarctic top predators, such as seals and seabirds, are strongly dependent on sea-ice cover to complete their life history (Barbraud & Weimerskirch 2001, Siniff et al 2008, Forcada et al 2012. Indeed, sea ice provides a habitat for ice-associated diatoms (Lizotte 2001) that are then grazed by pivotal species for top predators, such as the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba (Quetin & Ross 2001, Nicol 2006) and the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum in its early stages (Giraldo et al 2011, La Mesa & Eastman 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Importance of ice algal production for top predators: new insights using sea-ice biomarkers

Goutte¹,

Charrassin²,

Cherel³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Antarctic seals and seabirds are strongly dependent on sea-ice cover to complete their life history. In polar ecosystems, sea ice provides a habitat for ice-associated diatoms that ensures a substantial production of organic matter. Recent studies have presented the potential of highly branched isoprenoids (HBIs) for tracing carbon flows from ice algae to higher-trophic-level organisms. However, to our knowledge, this new method has never been applied to sub-Antarctic species and Antarctic seals. Moreover, seasonal variations in HBI levels have never been investigated in Antarctic predators, despite a likely shift in food source from ice-derived to pelagic organic matter after sea-ice retreat. In the present study, we described HBI levels in a community of seabirds and seals breeding in Adélie Land, Antarctica. We then validated that sub-Antarctic seabirds had lower levels of diene, a HBI of sea-ice diatom origin, and higher levels of triene, a HBI of phytoplanktonic origin, compared with Antarctic seabirds. Finally, we explored temporal changes in HBI levels after the ice break up in summer. The level of diene relative to triene in Adélie penguin chicks increased and then declined during the breeding season, which was consistent with the short and intense proliferation of sea-ice algae in spring, followed by the pelagic phytoplankton bloom in summer. HBI biomarkers in Antarctic seabirds and seals thus indicate a shift from ice-algal derived organic matter to a pelagic carbon source during the summer breeding season.KEY WORDS: Ice proxy · Penguin · Petrel · Pinniped · Southern OceanResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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Section: Hbi Variation During the Breeding Seasonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Importance of ice algal production for top predators: new insights using sea-ice biomarkers

Goutte¹,

Charrassin²,

Cherel³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…As the area of ice available to them declines, they will be forced to use alternative habitats or decline. In contrast, other species of marine mammals may be able to move into higher latitude regions as ice melts and the conditions change (e.g., Moore and Huntington, 2008;Siniff et al, 2008;Costa et al, 2010).…”

Section: Effects Of Advective Changes On Seabirds and Marine Mammalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

Hunt

Drinkwater

Arrigo

et al. 2016

Progress in Oceanography

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a b s t r a c tWe compare and contrast the ecological impacts of atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns on polar and sub-polar marine ecosystems. Circulation patterns differ strikingly between the north and south. Meridional circulation in the north provides connections between the sub-Arctic and Arctic despite the presence of encircling continental landmasses, whereas annular circulation patterns in the south tend to isolate Antarctic surface waters from those in the north. These differences influence fundamental aspects of the polar ecosystems from the amount, thickness and duration of sea ice, to the types of organisms, and the ecology of zooplankton, fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Meridional flows in both the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans transport heat, nutrients, and plankton northward into the Chukchi Sea, the Barents Sea, and the seas off the west coast of Greenland. In the North Atlantic, the advected heat warms the waters of the southern Barents Sea and, with advected nutrients and plankton, supports immense biomasses of fish, seabirds and marine mammals. On the Pacific side of the Arctic, cold waters flowing northward across the northern Bering and Chukchi seas during winter and spring limit the ability of boreal fish species to take advantage of high seasonal production there. Southward flow of cold Arctic waters into sub-Arctic regions of the North Atlantic occurs mainly through Fram Strait with less through the Barents Sea and the Canadian Archipelago. In the Pacific, the transport of Arctic waters and plankton southward through Bering Strait is minimal.In the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and its associated fronts are barriers to the southward dispersal of plankton and pelagic fishes from sub-Antarctic waters, with the consequent evolution of Antarctic zooplankton and fish species largely occurring in isolation from those to the north. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current also disperses biota throughout the Southern Ocean, and as a result, the biota tends to be similar within a given broad latitudinal band. South of the Southern Boundary of the ACC, there is a large-scale divergence that brings nutrient-rich water to the surface. This divergence, along with more localized upwelling regions and deep vertical convection in winter, generates elevated nutrient levels throughout the Antarctic at the end of austral winter. However, such elevated nutrient levels do not support elevated phytoplankton productivity through the entire Southern Ocean, as iron concentrations are rapidly removed to limiting levels by spring blooms in deep waters. However, coastal http://dx

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“…Salps have increased simultaneously. Crystal krill E. crystallorophias may be favoured by greater persistence and size of coastal polynyas but cannot make up for the losses in E. superba (Siniff et al 2008). It is not clear to what extent penguins and seals can easily switch to other food such as fish and squid; only in the case of Weddell seals fish are staple food locally (Plötz et al 2001).…”

Section: Variability Of Ice and Its Role In Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Changes in extent, persistence and type of pack ice affect Weddell and crabeater seals most, whereas they favour fur and elephant seals (Siniff et al 2008). In Signy Island, the exploding fur seal population has led to severe eutrophication and destruction of the vascular vegetation (Quayle et al 2003).…”

Section: Variability Of Ice and Its Role In Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change in Antartic and Magellanic Regions: fields and goals of scientific cooperation

Arntz

Gerdes

2011

Anales Instituto Patagonia (Chile)

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Opinion: Projecting the effects of environmental change on Antarctic seals

Cited by 119 publications

References 85 publications

Importance of ice algal production for top predators: new insights using sea-ice biomarkers

Importance of ice algal production for top predators: new insights using sea-ice biomarkers

Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems

Climate change in Antartic and Magellanic Regions: fields and goals of scientific cooperation

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