Fine-scale feeding behavior of Weddell seals revealed by a mandible accelerometer

We used a mandible accelerometer to document feeding events in two free-ranging adult female Weddell seals in Atka Bay, Antarctica. Using spectral analysis, we isolated several patterns in the mandible acceleration data. The shorter, un-attenuated signals are thought to represent feeding. The longer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar science 2010-08, Vol.4 (2), p.309-316
Main Authors: Naito, Yasuhiko, Bornemann, Horst, Takahashi, Akinori, McIntyre, Trevor, Plötz, Joachim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Feeding events
Mandible accelerometer
Marine
Sub-iceberg feeding
Vocalization
Weddell seal
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Summary:We used a mandible accelerometer to document feeding events in two free-ranging adult female Weddell seals in Atka Bay, Antarctica. Using spectral analysis, we isolated several patterns in the mandible acceleration data. The shorter, un-attenuated signals are thought to represent feeding. The longer, attenuating signals are thought to represent vocalizing activities. The depth data suggest that one seal dived under the base of the iceberg. During these dives we detected a unique type of feeding signal. These signals were characterized by patterns of low amplitude and irregular peaks. A second signal type, characterized by a larger amplitude, was observed 75 times at depths shallower than 60 m. The number of feeding signals per dive was higher for iceberg associated dives (>60 m, 11.3 signals/dive) than for dives to midwater depths (
ISSN:1873-9652
1876-4428
DOI:10.1016/j.polar.2010.05.009