Acoustic determination of activity and flipper stroke rate in foraging northern fur seal females

Abstract

Foraging effort for lactating female otariid pinnipeds is largely a function of the energy expended swimming to a site and diving in search of prey. This is especially true for northern fur seal Callorhinus ursinus females, which predictably punctuate their suckling with 7 to 12 d foraging trips at sea, with swimming distances often exceeding 400 km. In the present study we tested a unique approach (flow noise from onboard acoustic dataloggers) to empirically measure swim effort in free ranging female northern fur seals, the first such field measurements on an otariid pinniped. We first measured behavioural activity budgets of seals from a combination of satellite telemetry, pressure, (depth), and onboard acoustic data. From these data we were able to quantify the time spent in each of 4 mutually exclusive forms of behaviour: locomoting, diving, resting, and surface activity. Second, flipper stroke rates and stroke rate patterns were measured from the acoustic data for each seal during 3 dive types (i.e. locomoting, shallow and mid/deep dives) and during 3 dive parts (descent, bottom time and ascent). Although stroke rates during each of the 3 dive types were similar (ca. 0.5 Hz), they were distinct during the different parts of a dive. In each case, variation among individuals was significant. Stroke rate patterns were distinct for the different dive types and dive parts. Overall, in to applying a unique technique to measure foraging effort in declining population, the results emphasize the importance of accounting for individual variation to obtain accurate estimate of foraging cost. © Inter-Research 2008.