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Dryad

Data from: Dive behaviour and foraging effort of female Cape fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus

Cite this dataset

Kirkman, Stephen et al. (2019). Data from: Dive behaviour and foraging effort of female Cape fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7m5s110

Abstract

While marine top predators can play a critical role in ecosystem structure and dynamics through their effects on prey populations, how they function is often not well understood. In southern Africa, the Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) population constitutes the largest marine top predator biomass but little is known of its foraging ecology other than its diet and some preliminary dive records. Dive information was obtained from 32 adult females instrumented with dive recorders at the Kleinsee colony (29º34.17 S, 16 º59.80 E) in South Africa during 2006–2008. Most dives were in the depth range of epipelagic prey species (< 50 m deep) and at night, reflecting the reliance of Cape fur seals on small vertically migrating schooling prey. However, most females also performed benthic dives, which was prevalent in some individuals. Benthic diving was significantly associated with the frequency with which females exceeded their aerobic dive limit. The greater putative costs of benthic diving highlights the potential detrimental effects on Cape fur seals of environmental changes that may reduce the availability of epipelagic prey in the Benguela region of southern Africa.

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