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Limited use of sea ice by the Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii), in Amundsen Sea, Antarctica, using telemetry and remote sensing data

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Abstract

To understand the use and importance of the Antarctic sea ice to the Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii), four adult females were tagged with Argos satellite transmitters in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica. The Ross seal is the least studied of the Antarctic seal species and nothing was previously known about their behaviour in the Amundsen Sea. During almost 1 year, their movements, haul out behaviour and time spent at different temperatures were logged. By comparing their movements with daily ice maps, distances to the ice edge were calculated, and seals dependence on sea ice for resting, breeding and moulting was analysed. The tagged seals spent on average 70.8 % (range 66.8–77.8 %) of their time in the water and hauled out mainly during the moult in December–January, and in late October–mid-November during breeding. During the pelagic period, they were on average 837.5 km (range 587–1,282 km) from the ice edge indicating a fully pelagic life during several months. Their pelagic behaviour suggests that Ross seals, although being an ice obligate species, may adapt comparatively easy to climate change involving ice melting and recession and thereby potentially being less sensitive to the reduction of sea ice than other Antarctic seal species. Although nothing is known about their mating behaviour, they appear to be relatively stationary during moulting and breeding, hence requiring a small ice surface. Although previous studies in other parts of Antarctica have found similar results, still many questions remain about this peculiar species.

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Acknowledgments

We like to thank the very skillful crew on board the Swedish icebreaker Oden and especially the helicopter crew Sven Stenvall and Nils Eriksson. Also a special thanks to those who helped during tagging and Brent Stewart for expert advice and enthusiasm. All animal handling protocols were authorized under the permit issued by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat (Dnr 2010–112). Logistic support was provided by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and financial support by the Swedish Research Council granted to Tero Harkonen and Karin Harding, for which we are grateful.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda Diagonal 643, Edifici Ramon Margalef, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Anna Arcalís-Planas

  2. Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    Anna Arcalís-Planas, Signe Sveegaard & Jonas Teilmann

  3. Department of Environmental Research and Monitoring, Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, 104 05, Stockholm, Sweden

    Olle Karlsson & Tero Harkonen

  4. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 461, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Karin C. Harding

  5. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 460, 405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Anna Wåhlin

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  1. Anna Arcalís-Planas
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Correspondence to Jonas Teilmann.

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Arcalís-Planas, A., Sveegaard, S., Karlsson, O. et al. Limited use of sea ice by the Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii), in Amundsen Sea, Antarctica, using telemetry and remote sensing data. Polar Biol 38, 445–461 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1602-y

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