Hello I just want to share this article about Guadalupe fur seal growth and survival. Impacts of extreme ocean warming on the early development of a marine top predator: The Guadalupe fur seal https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2019.102220 Highlights * The northeast Pacific Marine Heatwave occurred in 2014-2016. * An anomaly of +1 °C reduces the weight of Guadalupe fur seal neonates in ~1.7 kg. * The lowest neonatal survival coincided with the highest warming variability (2015). * Extreme warming in 2014-2015 could have reduced nursing females prey availability. * Climate change would affect this subspecies' early development. Abstract
From fall 2013 through 2015, a large-scale, multi-year warm water anomaly occurred in the northeast Pacific Ocean. The phenomenon had negative impacts on some oceanic predators, including higher mortalities and poor body conditions. We studied the effect of this warm water anomaly on the weight gain of Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii townsendi) neonates off the coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Individuals were captured, marked, and weighed every 13-15 days, up to 60 days of age, during the early nursing seasons (mid-June to mid-August) of 2014-2016 at this subspecies' only reproductive colony, located on Guadalupe Island. The body weight was measured at each capture and recapture. A hierarchical Bayesian model was used to explore the impact of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies on the neonates' weights. The hierarchical structure included connected models for the spring-summer SST trend around the colony, the neonatal body weight gain with age, and the relationship between the anomalies of both variables. Marked neonates were also tracked in order to estimate survival rates during first two months of age. Overall, positive SST anomalies had a negative effect on neonatal body weight gain. The northeast Pacific Marine Heatwave precipitated the lowest weights at birth and the slowest weight gain in 2014, as well as low weights and the lowest survival rate in 2015, likely due to the persistence of the warm anomalies. The evident sensitivity of Guadalupe fur seal neonates to regional warming conditions highlights their vulnerability under scenarios of climate change, which could impede this subspecies' continued recovery from near extinction.
Best regards, Casandra Gálvez, Enviado desde Outlook Mobile<https://aka.ms/blhgte> ________________________________ From: MARMAM <marmam-bounces@lists.uvic.ca> on behalf of marmam-request@lists.uvic.ca <marmam-request@lists.uvic.ca> Sent: Wednesday, June 3, 2020 1:00:28 PM To: marmam@lists.uvic.ca <marmam@lists.uvic.ca> Subject: MARMAM Digest, Vol 179, Issue 1 Send MARMAM mailing list submissions to marmam@lists.uvic.ca To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to marmam-request@lists.uvic.ca You can reach the person managing the list at marmam-owner@lists.uvic.ca When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of MARMAM digest..." Today's Topics: 1. New publications on whale acoustics use (burnhamr) 2. New paper on cetacean abundance in the Central North Atlantic (Daniel Pike) 3. Competition Announcement - bycatch mitigation research (Lydia Tivenan) 4. New publication: Cetacean Skeletons Demonstrate Ecologically Relevant Variation in Intraskeletal Stable Isotopic Values (Kerri J. Smith) 5. New paper about Effect ranges of underwater noise from anchor vibration operations in the Wadden Sea (Schaffeld, Tobias) 6. Request for information on harbor porpoise behavior (Bill Keener) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2020 09:51:23 -0700 From: burnhamr <burnhamr@uvic.ca> To: marmam@lists.uvic.ca Subject: [MARMAM] New publications on whale acoustics use Message-ID: <fc219314c657f189a14a17d28c84f564@uvic.ca> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I'm happy to share 2 new publications The first is a continuation of the discussion of 'Whale Geography' (previous discussion here:https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133317734103) Burnham, R.E. 2020. Whale Geography: A species-centric approach applied to migration' 44 (3)_: _419-434 It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133320922417 Abstract: Understanding the biogeography of a species begins by mapping its presence over time and space. The use of home ranges, breeding and feeding areas, migration paths and movement patterns between the two are also inherent to their ecology. However, this is an overly simplified view of life histories. It ignores nuanced and complex exchanges and responses to the environment and between conspecifics. Having previously advocated for a more species-centric approach in a discussion of 'whale geography', I look to better understand the driving factors of migrations, and the information streams guiding the movement, which is key to the biogeography of large whale species. First, I consider the processes underlying the navigation capacities of species to complete migration, and how, and over what scales, sensory information contributes to cognitive maps. I specifically draw on examples of large-scale, _en masse_ migrators to then apply this to whales. I focus on the acoustic sense as the principal way whales gain and exchange information, drawing on a case study of grey whale (_Eschrichtius robustu_s) calling behaviour to illustrate my arguments. Their consistent employment of far-propagating calls appears to be tied to travel behaviours and probably aids navigation and social cohesion. The range over which calls are being propagated to conspecifics, or perhaps being echoed back to the individual, underlies the distance over which the cognitive maps are being both formed and employed. I believe understanding these processes edges us closer to understanding species biogeography. The second is adaptation of a paper myself and colleagues published on our glider research in the offshore waters of the Canadian Pacific that has been adapted for a younger audience in Frontiers for Young Minds. Burnham R.E. 2020. Learning About Whales by Listening for Their Calls. Front. Young Minds. 8:55. Accessed here: https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2020.00055 Abstract: Populations of large whales have been reduced to very low numbers, primarily by hunting. As the number of whales became smaller, they became harder to find. In the past, whalers knew where to go to hunt, but now scientists who study whales can find it hard to know which areas whales use to feed, breed, or even travel through. We now realize how important whales are for keeping oceans healthy, so scientists are trying to learn as much as they can about large whales. Underwater sound recordings are helping us find some of the rarest whales in the northeast Pacific by listening for their calls. We use underwater microphones, called hydrophones, set on the ocean floor and on ocean gliders, which are small submarines, to help us learn about where whales are, when they are there, and most importantly, what they are doing. The original article this is adapted from is: Burnham, R. E., Duffus, D. A., and Mouy, X. 2019. The presence of large whale species in Clayoquot Sound and its offshore waters. _Cont. Shelf Res._ 177:15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2019.03.004 If you would like a PDF of any of these papers feel free to contact me Rianna Burnham, PhD.