Fortuitous encounters between seagliders and adult female northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) off the Washington (USA) coast: upper ocean variability and links to top predator behavior.

ABSTRACT: Behavioral responses by top marine predators to oceanographic features such as eddies, river plumes, storms, and coastal topography suggest that biophysical interactions in these zones affect predators' prey, foraging behaviors, and potentially fitness. However, examining these pathways is challenged by the obstacles inherent in obtaining simultaneous observations of surface and subsurface environmental fields and predator behavior. In this study, migratory movements and, in some cases, diving behavior of 40 adult female northern fur seals (NFS; Callorhinus ursinus) were quantified across their range and compared to remotely-sensed environmental data in the Gulf of Alaska and California Current ecosystems, with a particular focus off the coast of Washington State (USA)--a known foraging gr

SUBMITTER: Pelland NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4143212 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature