24 research outputs found

    Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) Migration from Maternal Dens in Western Hudson Bay

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    Migration is a common life history strategy among Arctic vertebrates, yet some of its aspects remain poorly described for some species. In February-March, post-parturient polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in western Hudson Bay, Canada, migrate from maternity den sites on land to the sea ice with three- to four-month-old cubs. We investigated this migration using data from 10 adult females fitted with satellite-linked global positioning system collars tracked in 2011 – 16. Directed movement towards the coast began on average on 1 March (range: 31 January to 23 March) and took a mean of 7.8 days to reach the coast. Bears traveled 18 to 100 km from their dens to the coast (mean = 63 km) at a mean rate of 6.7 km/d. Movements were highly directed, with an approximate northeast orientation, but did not follow the shortest path to the coast. Observed migration patterns were broadly similar to those previously documented, although mean departure date from dens was about four days earlier and mean movement rate was only 40% of that from the late 1990s. Given the sensitivity of polar bears to climate change, the phenology of denning may be a meaningful parameter for long-term monitoring.Parmi les vertĂ©brĂ©s de l’Arctique, la migration constitue une stratĂ©gie de cycle biologique courante et pourtant, pour certaines espĂšces, certains des aspects de la migration sont toujours mal dĂ©crits. En fĂ©vrier et en mars, les ours polaires (Ursus maritimus) de post-parturition de l’ouest de la baie d’Hudson, au Canada, migrent depuis leurs aires terrestres de mise bas vers la glace de mer avec leurs oursons de trois Ă  quatre mois. Nous avons Ă©tudiĂ© cette migration en nous servant des donnĂ©es relatives Ă  dix femelles adultes dotĂ©es de colliers satellitaires avec systĂšme de localisation GPS, donnĂ©es recueillies de 2011 Ă  2016. En moyenne, les dĂ©placements dirigĂ©s vers la cĂŽte commençaient le 1er mars (Ă©tendue : du 31 janvier au23 mars) et pour se rendre jusqu’à la cĂŽte, il fallait en moyenne 7,8 jours. De leur aire de mise bas jusqu’à la cĂŽte, les ours parcouraient de 18 Ă  100 km (moyenne = 63 km) au taux moyen de 6,7 km/j. Les dĂ©placements Ă©taient fortement dirigĂ©s, avec une orientation approximative du nord-est, sans toutefois emprunter le chemin le plus court menant Ă  la cĂŽte. Les modĂšles de migration observĂ©s ressemblaient beaucoup aux modĂšles dĂ©jĂ  documentĂ©s, quoique la date de dĂ©part moyenne des aires de mise bas s’établissait Ă  environ quatre jours plus tĂŽt et que le taux de dĂ©placement moyen ne correspondait qu’à 40 % du taux de la fin des annĂ©es 1990. Compte tenu de la sensibilitĂ© des ours polaires au changement climatique, la phĂ©nologie de l’aire de mise bas pourrait constituer un paramĂštre significatif pour la surveillance Ă  long terme

    Deglacial mesophotic reef demise on the Great Barrier Reef

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    Submerged reefs are important recorders of palaeo-environments and sea-level change, and provide a substrate for modem mesophotic (deep-water, light-dependent) coral communities. Mesophotic reefs are rarely, if ever, described from the fossil record and nothing is known of their long-term record on Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Sedimentological and palaeo-ecological analyses coupled with 67 C-14 AMS and U-Th radiometric dates from dredged coral, algae and btyozoan specimens, recovered from depths of 45 to 130 m, reveal two distinct generations of fossil mesophotic coral community development on the submerged shelf edge reefs of the GBR. They occurred from 13 to 10 ka and 8 ka to present. We identified eleven sedimentary fades representing both autochthonous (in situ) and allochthonous (detrital) genesis, and their palaeo-environmental settings have been interpreted based on their sedimentological characteristics, biological assemblages, and the distribution of similar modern biota within the dredges. Facies on the shelf edge represent deep sedimentary environments, primarily forereef slope and open platform settings in palaeo-water depths of 45-95 m. Two coral-algal assemblages and one non-coral encruster assemblage were identified: 1) Massive and tabular corals including Porites, Montipora and faviids associated with Lithophylloids and minor Mastophoroids, 2) platy and encrusting corals including Porites, Montipora and Pachyseris associated with melobesioids and Sporolithon, and 3) Melobesiods and Sporolithon with acervulinids (foraminifera) and bryozoans. Based on their modem occurrence on the GBR and Coral Sea and modem specimens collected in dredges, these are interpreted as representing palaeo-water depths of 100 m respectively. The first mesophotic generation developed at modern depths of 85-130 m from 13 to 10.2 ka and exhibit a deepening succession of 100 m palaeo-water depth through time. The second generation developed at depths of 45-70 m on the shelf edge from 7.8 ka to present and exhibit stable environmental conditions through time. The apparent hiatus that interrupted the mesophotic coral communities coincided with the timing of modem reef initiation on the GBR as well as a wide-spread flux of siliciclastic sediments from the shelf to the basin. For the first time we have observed the response of mesophotic reef communities to millennial scale environmental perturbations, within the context of global sea-level rise and environmental changes. © 2013, Elsevier Ltd

    Biological responses to change in Antarctic sea ice habitats

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    Sea ice is a key habitat in the high latitude Southern Ocean and is predicted to change in its extent, thickness and duration in coming decades. The sea-ice cover is instrumental in mediating ocean–atmosphere exchanges and provides an important substrate for organisms from microbes and algae to predators. Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, is reliant on sea ice during key phases of its life cycle, particularly during the larval stages, for food and refuge from their predators, while other small grazers, including copepods and amphipods, either live in the brine channel system or find food and shelter at the ice-water interface and in gaps between rafted ice blocks. Fish, such as the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum, use platelet ice (loosely-formed frazil crystals) as an essential hatching and nursery ground. In this paper, we apply the framework of the Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean (MEASO) to review current knowledge about relationships between sea ice and associated primary production and secondary consumers, their status and the drivers of sea-ice change in this ocean. We then use qualitative network modelling to explore possible responses of lower trophic level sea-ice biota to different perturbations, including warming air and ocean temperatures, increased storminess and reduced annual sea-ice duration. This modelling shows that pelagic algae, copepods, krill and fish are likely to decrease in response to warming temperatures and reduced sea-ice duration, while salp populations will likely increase under conditions of reduced sea-ice duration and increased number of days of >0°C. Differences in responses to these pressures between the five MEASO sectors were also explored. Greater impacts of environmental pressures on ice-related biota occurring presently were found for the West and East Pacific sectors (notably the Ross Sea and western Antarctic Peninsula), with likely flow-on effects to the wider ecosystem. All sectors are expected to be impacted over coming decades. Finally, we highlight priorities for future sea ice biological research to address knowledge gaps in this field

    Biological responses to change in Antarctic sea ice habitats

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    Sea ice is a key habitat in the high latitude Southern Ocean and is predicted to change in its extent, thickness and duration in coming decades. The sea-ice cover is instrumental in mediating ocean–atmosphere exchanges and provides an important substrate for organisms from microbes and algae to predators. Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, is reliant on sea ice during key phases of its life cycle, particularly during the larval stages, for food and refuge from their predators, while other small grazers, including copepods and amphipods, either live in the brine channel system or find food and shelter at the ice-water interface and in gaps between rafted ice blocks. Fish, such as the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum, use platelet ice (loosely-formed frazil crystals) as an essential hatching and nursery ground. In this paper, we apply the framework of the Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean (MEASO) to review current knowledge about relationships between sea ice and associated primary production and secondary consumers, their status and the drivers of sea-ice change in this ocean. We then use qualitative network modelling to explore possible responses of lower trophic level sea-ice biota to different perturbations, including warming air and ocean temperatures, increased storminess and reduced annual sea-ice duration. This modelling shows that pelagic algae, copepods, krill and fish are likely to decrease in response to warming temperatures and reduced sea-ice duration, while salp populations will likely increase under conditions of reduced sea-ice duration and increased number of days of >0°C. Differences in responses to these pressures between the five MEASO sectors were also explored. Greater impacts of environmental pressures on ice-related biota occurring presently were found for the West and East Pacific sectors (notably the Ross Sea and western Antarctic Peninsula), with likely flow-on effects to the wider ecosystem. All sectors are expected to be impacted over coming decades. Finally, we highlight priorities for future sea ice biological research to address knowledge gaps in this field

    Rapid glaciation and a two-step sea-level plunge into The Last Glacial Maximum

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    The approximately 10,000-year-long Last Glacial Maximum, before the termination of the last ice age, was the coldest period in Earth’s recent climate history1. Relative to the Holocene epoch, atmospheric carbon dioxide was about 100 parts per million lower and tropical sea surface temperatures were about 3 to 5 degrees Celsius lower2,3. The Last Glacial Maximum began when global mean sea level (GMSL) abruptly dropped by about 40 metres around 31,000 years ago4 and was followed by about 10,000 years of rapid deglaciation into the Holocene1. The masses of the melting polar ice sheets and the change in ocean volume, and hence in GMSL, are primary constraints for climate models constructed to describe the transition between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene, and future changes; but the rate, timing and magnitude of this transition remain uncertain. Here we show that sea level at the shelf edge of the Great Barrier Reef dropped by around 20 metres between 21,900 and 20,500 years ago, to −118 metres relative to the modern level. Our findings are based on recovered and radiometrically dated fossil corals and coralline algae assemblages, and represent relative sea level at the Great Barrier Reef, rather than GMSL. Subsequently, relative sea level rose at a rate of about 3.5 millimetres per year for around 4,000 years. The rise is consistent with the warming previously observed at 19,000 years ago1,5, but we now show that it occurred just after the 20-metre drop in relative sea level and the related increase in global ice volumes. The detailed structure of our record is robust because the Great Barrier Reef is remote from former ice sheets and tectonic activity. Relative sea level can be influenced by Earth’s response to regional changes in ice and water loadings and may differ greatly from GMSL. Consequently, we used glacio-isostatic models to derive GMSL, and find that the Last Glacial Maximum culminated 20,500 years ago in a GMSL low of about −125 to −130 metres.Financial support of this research was provided by the JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers JP26247085, JP15KK0151, JP16H06309 and JP17H01168), the Australian Research Council (grant number DP1094001), ANZIC, NERC grant NE/H014136/1 and Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux

    Effective design of marine reserves: incorporating alongshore currents, size structure, and uncertainty

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    Marine populations worldwide are in decline due to anthropogenic effects. Spatial management via marine reserves may be an effective conservation method for many species, but the requisite theory is still underdeveloped. Integrodifference equation (IDE) models can be used to determine the critical domain size required for persistence and provide a modelling framework suitable for many marine populations. Here, we develop a novel spatially implicit approximation for the proportion of individuals lost outside the reserve areas which consistently outperforms the most common approximation. We examine how results using this approximation compare to the existing IDE results on the critical domain size for populations in a single reserve, in a network of reserves, in the presence of alongshore currents, and in structured populations. We find that the approximation consistently provides results which are in close agreement with those of an IDE model with the advantage of being simpler to convey to a biological audience while providing insights into the significance of certain model components. We also design a stochastic individual based model (IBM) to explore the probability of extinction for a population within a reserve area. We use our spatially implicit approximation to estimate the proportion of individuals which disperse outside the reserve area. We then use this approximation to obtain results on extinction using two different approaches, which we can compare to the baseline IBM; the first approach is based on the Central Limit Theorem and provides efficient simulation results, and the second modifies a simple Galton-Watson branching process to include loss outside the reserve area. We find that this spatially implicit approximation is also effective in obtaining results similar to those produced by the IBM in the presence of both demographic and environmental variability. Overall, this provides a set of complimentary methods for predicting the reserve area required to sustain a population in the presence of strong fishing pressure in the surrounding waters.</p

    Effective design of marine reserves: incorporating alongshore currents, size structure, and uncertainty

    No full text
    Marine populations worldwide are in decline due to anthropogenic effects. Spatial management via marine reserves may be an effective conservation method for many species, but the requisite theory is still underdeveloped. Integrodifference equation (IDE) models can be used to determine the critical domain size required for persistence and provide a modelling framework suitable for many marine populations. Here, we develop a novel spatially implicit approximation for the proportion of individuals lost outside the reserve areas which consistently outperforms the most common approximation. We examine how results using this approximation compare to the existing IDE results on the critical domain size for populations in a single reserve, in a network of reserves, in the presence of alongshore currents, and in structured populations. We find that the approximation consistently provides results which are in close agreement with those of an IDE model with the advantage of being simpler to convey to a biological audience while providing insights into the significance of certain model components. We also design a stochastic individual based model (IBM) to explore the probability of extinction for a population within a reserve area. We use our spatially implicit approximation to estimate the proportion of individuals which disperse outside the reserve area. We then use this approximation to obtain results on extinction using two different approaches, which we can compare to the baseline IBM; the first approach is based on the Central Limit Theorem and provides efficient simulation results, and the second modifies a simple Galton-Watson branching process to include loss outside the reserve area. We find that this spatially implicit approximation is also effective in obtaining results similar to those produced by the IBM in the presence of both demographic and environmental variability. Overall, this provides a set of complimentary methods for predicting the reserve area required to sustain a population in the presence of strong fishing pressure in the surrounding waters.This thesis is not currently available via ORA

    Filling the gap: A 60 ky record of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic turbidite deposition from the Great Barrier Reef

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    Late Pleistocene to Holocene margin sedimentation on the Great Barrier Reef, a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic margin, has been explained by a transgressive shedding model. This model has challenged widely accepted sequence stratigraphic models in terms of the timing and type of sediment (i.e. carbonate vs. siliciclastic) deposited during sea-level oscillations. However, this model documents only hemipelagic sedimentation and the contribution of coarse-grained turbidite deposition, and the role of submarine canyons in this process, remain elusive on this archetypal margin. Here we present a new model of turbidite deposition for the last 60 ky in the north-eastern Australia margin. Using high-resolution bathymetry, 58 new and existing radiometric ages, and the composition of 81 turbidites from 15 piston cores, we found that the spatial and temporal variation of turbidites is controlled by the relationship between sea-level change and the variable physiography along the margin. Siliciclastic and mixed carbonate-siliciclastic turbidites were linked to canyons indenting the shelf-break and the well-developed shelf-edge reef barriers that stored sediment behind them. Turbidite deposition was sustained while the sea-level position allowed the connection and sediment bypassing through the inter-reef passages and canyons. Carbonate turbidites dominated in regions with more open conditions at the outer-shelf and where slope-confined canyons dominated or where canyons are generally less abundant. The turn-on and maintenance of carbonate production during sea-level fluctuations also influenced the timing of carbonate turbidite deposition. We show that a fundamental understanding of the variable physiography inherent to mixed carbonate-siliciclastic margins is essential to accurately interpret deep-water, coarse-grained deposition within a sequence stratigraphic context
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