Hostname: page-component-cc8bf7c57-77pjf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-10T10:05:22.392Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Aggregation of mummified adult crabeater seals (Pinnipedia: Phocidae) in the eastern Antarctic Peninsula: age and sex structure, taphonomy and cause of death

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2014

Javier Negrete*
Affiliation:
Departamento Biologia de Predadores Tope, Instituto Antártico Argentino, Cerrito 1248, (C1010AAZ) Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Leopoldo h. Soibelzon
Affiliation:
División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, (1900) La Plata, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas (Conicet), Av Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAJ), CABA, Argentina
Esteban Soibelzon
Affiliation:
División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, (1900) La Plata, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas (Conicet), Av Rivadavia 1917 (C1033AAJ), CABA, Argentina
María E.I. Márquez
Affiliation:
Departamento Biologia de Predadores Tope, Instituto Antártico Argentino, Cerrito 1248, (C1010AAZ) Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Cleopatra M. Loza
Affiliation:
División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, (1900) La Plata, Argentina
Walter Acosta
Affiliation:
Cátedra de Semiología, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Av 60 y 118 (1900) La Plata, Argentina
Jorge Lusky
Affiliation:
Departamento Técnico y Logístico Polar, Dirección Nacional del Antártico, Cerrito 1248, (C1010AAZ) Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Marcelo Pecoraro
Affiliation:
Cátedra de Virología, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Av 60 s/n (1900) La Plata, Argentina

Abstract

In Antarctica, crabeater seals tend to strand as immature animals with disorientation, due to their inexperience, given as the probable cause. In 2012 and 2013, we examined a group of 80 mummified crabeater seals on Seymour Island (Marambio). The age and gender of 28 seals was determined, and virology and stomach content analyses were performed in order to determine the cause of stranding. Around 82% of the seals examined were adults and 79% were females, some of which were pregnant. All of the seals sampled tested negative for Morbillivirus, suggesting that the stranding was not related to the mass mortality event reported in the 1950s in the region. Most seals had empty stomachs and thin blubber suggesting that they died from starvation. The state of the carcasses suggests multiple stranding events. Most of the seals were located along an ice-covered stream, suggesting that this may act as a ‘natural trap’, isolating the seals from the open ocean. This is exceptional as it is the first report of mostly adult female seals to strand in Antarctica and refutes the theory that only young animals are prone to stranding.

Type
Biological Sciences
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Banks, J.C., Ross, P.M. & Smith, T.E. 2010. Report of a mummified leopard seal carcass in the southern Dry Valleys, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 22, 4344.Google Scholar
Barwick, R.E. & Balham, R.W. 1967. Mummified seal carcases in a deglaciated region of South Victoria Land, Antarctica. Tuatara, 15, 165180.Google Scholar
Bengtson, J.L., Boveng, P., Franzén, U., Have, P., Heide-Jørgensen, M.P. & Härkönen, T.J. 1991. Antibodies to canine distemper virus in Antarctic seals. Marine Mammal Science, 7, 8587.Google Scholar
Bester, M.N. & Odendaal, P.N. 1999. Abundance and distribution of Antarctic pack ice seals in the Weddell Sea. Berichte zur Polarforschung, 301, 102107.Google Scholar
Bornemann, H. & Plötz, J. 1999. Satellite tracking of crabeater seals. Berichte zur Polarforschung, 301, 98102.Google Scholar
Dort, W. 1975. Significance and antiquity of mummified seals in southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Rapports Procès Verbaux des Réunions, Counseil International pour l’Exploration de la Mer, 169, 5769.Google Scholar
Dort, W. 1981. The mummified seals of southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Antarctic Research Series, 30, 123154.Google Scholar
Erickson, A.W. & Hanson, M.B. 1990. Continental estimates and population trends of Antarctic ice seals. In Kerry, K.R. & Hempel, G., eds. Antarctic ecosystems: ecological change and conservation. Berlin: Springer, 253264.Google Scholar
Forcada, J., Trathan, P.N., Boveng, P.L., Boyd, I.L., Burns, J.M., Costa, D.P., Fedak, M., Rogers, T.L. & Southwell, C.J. 2012. Responses of Antarctic pack-ice seals to environmental change and increasing krill fishing. Biological Conservation, 149, 4050.Google Scholar
Gordon, J.E. & Harkness, D.D. 1992. Magnitude and geographic variation of the radiocarbon content in Antarctic marine life: implications for reservoir corrections in radiocarbon dating. Quaternary Science Review, 11, 697708.Google Scholar
Hårding, K.C. & Härkönen, T. 1995. Estimating mean age at sexual maturity in the crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 52, 23472352.Google Scholar
Kooyman, G.L. 1981. Crabeater seal – Lobodon carcinophagus (Hombron and Jacquinot, 1842). In Ridgway, S.H. & Harrison, R.J., eds. Handbook of marine mammals, vol. 2. London: Academic Press, 221235.Google Scholar
Laws, R.M. 1981. Biology of Antarctic seals. Science Progress, 67, 377397.Google Scholar
Laws, R.M. & Taylor, R.J.F. 1957. A mass dying of crabeater seals, Lobodon carcinophagus (Gray). Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 129, 315324.Google Scholar
Laws, R.M., Baird, A. & Bryden, M.M. 2002. Age estimation in crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophagus). Journal of Zoology, 258, 197203.Google Scholar
Laws, R.M., Baird, A. & Bryden, M.M. 2003a. Breeding season and embryonic diapause in crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophagus). Reproduction, 126, 365370.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laws, R.M., Baird, A. & Bryden, M.M. 2003b. Size and growth of the crabeater seal Lobodon carcinophagus (Mammalia: Carnivora). Journal of Zoology, 259, 103108.Google Scholar
Negrete, J., Soibelzon, E., Tonni, E.P., Carlini, A., Soibelzon, L.H., Poljak, S., Huarte, R.A. & Carbonari, J.E. 2011. Antarctic radiocarbon reservoir: the case of the mummified crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophaga) in Bodman Cape, Seymour Island, Antarctica. Radiocarbon, 53, 161166.Google Scholar
Nelson, A.E., Smellie, J.L., Williams, M. & Moreton, S. 2008. Age, geographical distribution and taphonomy of an unusual occurrence of mummified crabeater seals on James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Science, 20, 485493.Google Scholar
Nichols, R.L. 1966. Geomorphology of Antarctica. Antarctic Research Series, 8, 146.Google Scholar
Nozal, F., Montes, M., Santillana, S. & Martín-Serrano, A. 2007. Unidades del relieve de la isla Marambio, Antártida. Extended abstract. Actas del VI Simposio Argentino y III Latinoamericano sobre Investigaciones Antárticas. Available at: http://www.dna.gov.ar/ciencia/santar07/cd/pdf/geore828.pdf.Google Scholar
Péwé, T.L., Rivard, N.R. & Llano, G.A. 1959. Mummified seal carcasses in the McMurdo Sound Region, Antarctica. Science, 130, 716.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pyenson, N.D. 2010. Carcasses on the coastline: measuring the ecological fidelity of the cetacean stranding record in eastern North Pacific Ocean. Paleobiology, 36, 453480.Google Scholar
Pyenson, N.D. 2011. The high fidelity of the cetacean stranding record: insights into measuring diversity by integrating taphonomy and macroecology. Proceedings of the Royal Society, B278, 36083616.Google Scholar
Pyenson, N.D., Gutstein, C.S., Parham, J.F., Le Roux, J.F., Chavarría, C.C., Little, H., Metallo, A., Rossi, V., Valenzuela-Toro, A.M., Velez-Juarbe, J., Santelli, C.M., Rogers, D.R., Cozzuol, M.A. & Suárez, M.E. 2014. Repeated mass strandings of Miocene marine mammals from Atacama Region of Chile point to sudden death at sea. Proceedings of the Royal Society, B281, 10.1098/rspb.2013.3316.Google Scholar
Reynolds, J.M. 1981. The distribution of mean annual temperatures in the Antarctic Peninsula. British Antarctic Survey Bulletin, No. 54, 123133.Google Scholar
Shaughnessy, P.D. & Kerry, K.R. 1989. Crabeater seals Lobodon carcinophagus during the breeding season: observations on five groups near Enderby Land, Antarctica. Marine Mammal Science, 5, 6877.Google Scholar
Siniff, D.B. & Reichle, R.A. 1976. Biota of Antarctic pack ice: RV Hero cruise 75-6. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 11(2), 61.Google Scholar
Siniff, D.B., Cline, D.R. & Erickson, A.W. 1970. Population densities of seals in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. In Holdgate, M.W., ed. Antarctic ecology, vol. 1. New York, NY: Academic Press, 377394.Google Scholar
Siniff, D.B, Stirling, I., Bengston, J.L. & Reichle, R.A. 1979. Social and reproductive behaviour of crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophagus) during the austral spring. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 57, 22432255.Google Scholar
Sobral, J.M. 1904. Dos años entre los hielos, 1901-1903. Buenos Aires: J. Tragany y Cia, 364 pp.Google Scholar
Southwell, C., Kerry, K., Ensor, P., Woehler, E.J. & Rogers, T. 2003. The timing of pupping by pack-ice seals in East Antarctica. Polar Biology, 26, 648652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Southwell, C., Paxton, C.G.M., Borchers, D., Boveng, P. & de la Mare, W. 2008. Taking account of dependent species in management of the Southern Ocean krill fishery: estimating crabeater seal abundance off east Antarctica. Journal of Applied Ecology, 45, 622631.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Southwell, C, Bengtson, J., Bester, M., Blix, A.S., Bornemann, H., Boveng, P., Cameron, M., Forcada, J., Laake, J., Nordøy, E., Plötz, J., Rogers, T., Southwell, D., Steinhage, D., Stewart, B.S. & Trathan, P. 2012. A review of data on abundance, trends in abundance, habitat use and diet of ice-breeding seals in the Southern Ocean. CCAMLR Science, 19, 4974.Google Scholar
Stirling, I , . & Kooyman, G.L. 1971. Crabeater seal (Lobodon Carcinophagus) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, and the origin of mummified seals. Journal of Mammology, 52, 175180.Google Scholar
Stirling, I. & Rudolph, E.D. 1968. Inland record of a live crabeater seal in Antarctica. Journal of Mammology, 49, 161162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, F.X., Yan, X.J., Chai, X.L., Zhang, H.L., Zhao, J.J., Wen, Y.J. & Wu, W. 2011. Differentiation of canine distemper virus isolates in fur animals from various vaccine strains by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism according to phylogenetic relations in china. Virology Journal, 8, 10.1186/1743-422X-8-85.Google Scholar