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Population status of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) at Peninsula Potter breeding colony, Antarctica

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Abstract

Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) are apex predators that spend several months at sea feeding over vast areas. Their population trends are related to food availability during winter, which in turn is influenced by environmental conditions; thus, fluctuations in their populations reflect changes in the ecosystems. Although population trends for this species are available for large populations, there are still small colonies for which information is scarce, as is the case for the colony located at Peninsula Potter, South Shetland Islands. At this colony, field censuses of the number of breeding females conducted from 1995 to 2018 revealed an overall decline of 11.9% at an annual rate of 0.6%. However, contrasting trends before and after 2008 were observed. A decrease of 46.5% at an annual rate of 4.6% was registered before 2008, while for the subsequent period (2008–2018) the number of females increased by 64.5% at an annual rate of 5%. A positive association was observed between the extent of sea ice in winter foraging areas and population numbers between 1995 and 2008. The females of this colony feed on the edge of the sea ice, so in years of low sea ice extension the effort required to reach these areas is greater. This could lead individuals to choose to breed in areas closer to their feeding grounds in order to avoid the energetic expenditure of body reserves acquired during winter that would sustain the return trip to their natal colony.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to the fact that some of the data are still under analysis as part of a doctoral thesis that is being carried out by a researcher from the Argentine Antarctic Institute. However, some of these data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We want to thank Lic. Gonzalo Daniele, Dr. M Ciancio, Lic. I Gould, Dr. A Solari, Lic. P Campana, Lic. H Merlo, Lic M Baviera, Dr. F Galliari, Prof. M Gasco Lic. L Balboni, Mr H Copola, Mr. R Montiel, and Ms K Smith for field assistance. This work was funded by the Dirección Nacional del Antártico and the Secretarıa de Ciencia y Técnica (Picto:36054) and CONICET. We thank MSc Daniel Cárcamo and two anonymous reviewers whose comments really improved the version initially submitted. Finally, we would like to especially thank Professor Tracey Rogers for revising the language and improving the writing of the manuscript and for her valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología de Predadores Tope, Instituto Antártico Argentino, 25 de Mayo 1143, B1650CSP, San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Javier Negrete & Mariana Juáres

  2. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, UNLP, La Plata, Argentina

    Javier Negrete & Mariana Juáres

  3. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mariana Juáres

  4. YPF Tecnología S.A, Av. del Petróleo s/n 129 y 143, 1923, Berisso, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Jorge Augusto Mennucci

  5. División Mastozoología, Museo Argentino de Cs. Naturales “B. Rivadavia”, Av. Angel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Gustavo Daneri

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  1. Javier Negrete
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  2. Mariana Juáres
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  3. Jorge Augusto Mennucci
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  4. Gustavo Daneri
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by JN, MJ, JM, and GD. The first draft of the manuscript was written by JN and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and then read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Javier Negrete.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Argentine Antarctic Institute and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Code of Conduct (CoC). The permit for this work (FEAMB-CT-GA-12) was granted by the Dirección Nacional del Antártico (Environmental Office), Argentina after evaluating that our procedures conform to the Code of Ethics of Animal Experimentation in Antarctica. All authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Negrete, J., Juáres, M., Mennucci, J.A. et al. Population status of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) at Peninsula Potter breeding colony, Antarctica. Polar Biol 45, 987–997 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03044-1

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