Field immobilisation of southern elephant seals with intravenous tiletamine and zolazepam

McMahon, Clive R.; Burton, Harry R.; McLean, Stuart; Slip, David J.; Bester, Marthán N

doi:10.1136/vr.146.9.251

Cited by 107 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…1). Seals were captured and the administration of an intravenous injection of ketamine (2.0 -3.0 mg/kg) and diazepam (0.05 -0.2 mg/kg, Slip and Woods 1996) or Zoletil 100 (0.5 mg/kg, Virbac, Australia, McMahon et al 2000a) anaesthetised the seals while the stomach contents were lavaged. For a detailed account of this procedure see Slip (1995).…”

Section: Methods Dietmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humans and the Southern Elephant Seal Mirounga leonina

Burton¹,

Hoff²

2002

Aust. Mammalogy

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Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) populations appear remarkably unaffected by interactions with humans. They are very tolerant of close human presence whilst they are ashore for pupping, mating and moulting. Their behaviour in close proximity to helicopter operations suggests disturbance of moulting male M. leonina is minimal. There is no evidence that M. leonina have been affected by persistent organic pollutants; and few M. leonina have been reported as having been injured or killed by interactions with fishery gear. The number of prey species common to their diet and commercial fisheries in the Southern Ocean are few; but one commercial squid species, Martialia hyadesi, accounted for as much as 94% of the biomass consumed by M. leonina. Two harvested commercial squid species (Mar. hyadesi and Todarodes filippovae) were found in the stomachs of M. leonina; and some other squid species (Alluroteuthis antarcticus, Brachioteuthis spp., Gonatus antarcticus, Histeoteuthis spp., Kondokovia longimana, Moroteuthis ingens, Mor. knipovitchi, Pholidoteuthis boschmani and Psychroteuthis glacialis) have potential as commercial catch too. There is cause for concern if a future directed fishery for any of these species escalates or the by-catch of Mar. hyadesi and T. filippovae in the Illex and Nototodarus fisheries increase. There is also concern if fin-fish fisheries expand and take more of those species already taken by both M. leonina and fisheries. These species are benthic (Notothenia squamifrons), benthopelagic (Dissostichus eleginoides and Champsocephalus gunnari) and, perhaps most importantly, the pelagic myctophid species (e.g., Electrona carlsbergi).

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Section: Methods Dietmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humans and the Southern Elephant Seal Mirounga leonina

Burton¹,

Hoff²

2002

Aust. Mammalogy

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“…Individuals were anaesthetised using a 1:1 combination of tiletamine and zolazepam (Zoletil 100), which was injected intravenously (McMahon et al 2000). In general, post-breeding females forage at sea for durations varying from 65 to 80 d, departing late October be fore returning to land throughout January to moult.…”

Section: Animal Handling and Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Southern elephant seal foraging success in relation to temperature and light conditions: insight into prey distribution

Guinet¹,

Vacquié‐Garcia²,

Picard³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

103

131

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The distribution of southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina prey encounter events (PEEs) was investigated from the foraging behaviour of 29 post-breeding females simultaneously equipped with a satellite tag, a time−depth recorder and a head-mounted accelerometer. Seal diving depth and PEE were related to water temperature at 200 m (T 200 ), and light level at the surface (L 0 ) and at depth. Approximately half (49%) of all dives were located in waters encompassed between the southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front and the Polar Front. Seals dived significantly deeper during the day than at night. Diving and PEE depth increased with increasing T 200 and for a given T 200 according to L 0 and the percentage of surface light reaching 150 m. On average, 540 PEEs per day were recorded. Seals exhibited more PEEs per unit of time spent diving during the twilight period compared with at night, and were least successful during daylight hours. Elephant seals forage in T 200 ranging between −1 and 13°C; however, few PEEs were recorded at depths shallower than 400−500 m at night when the T 200 exceeded 8°C. The diet of female Kerguelen elephant seals appears to be dominated by myctophids (lanternfish), and according to the average mass of their most likely myctophid prey (9 g, Electrona calsbergi and E. antarctica; 30 g Gymnoscopelus nicholsi and G. piabilis), we estimate that seals consumed 4.8−16.1 kg of fish daily. Despite lower catch rates in warmer waters, no relationship was found between the mean T 200 at the scale of the foraging trip and daily or absolute mass gain, suggesting that elephant seals are compensating for lower catch rates by consuming larger/richer prey items in those waters.

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“…They were anaesthetised using a 1:1 combination of tiletamine and zolazepam (Zoletil 100) which was injected intravenously (McMahon et al 2000). Data loggers were glued on the head of the seals, using quick-setting epoxy (Araldite AW 2101), after cleaning the fur with (Orsi et al 1995) in the Southern Ocean: Southern SubTropical Front (SSTF), SubAntarctic Front (SAF), Polar Front (PF) and Southern Antarctic Circum-Polar Front (SACCF).…”

Section: Logger Deploymentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horizontal and vertical movements as predictors of foraging success in a marine predator

Dragon¹,

Bar-Hen²,

Monestiez³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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With technical advances in wildlife telemetry, the study of cryptic predators' responses to prey distribution has been revolutionised. In the case of marine predators, high resolution tagging devices have been developed recently to collect precise diving datasets covering extended periods of time. In this study, we investigated changes in the horizontal movements and diving patterns of a marine predator, the southern elephant seal, at fine temporal and spatial scales. Satellite tracking data collected for 9 seals were processed with switching state-space models. Seal body condition, as a proxy for foraging success, was estimated through changes in drift rate from Time Depth Recorder (TDR) data. We identified (1) statistically distinct behavioural modes from the tracking data (intensive vs. extensive foraging modes) and (2) distinct dive classes from the TDR diving data (drift, exploratory, shallow active and deep active dives). Active dives, associated with vertical foraging and chasing, were more numerous when the seals were in intensive foraging mode. Improved body condition and mass gain of seals were also associated with the intensive foraging mode and, within the vertical dimension, with sets of highly active dives. In conclusion, proportions of dive classes varied according to seals' horizontal behaviour. Intensive foraging detected from surface tracking data is a good predictor of diving activity and foraging success occurring in the vertical dimension.

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Field immobilisation of southern elephant seals with intravenous tiletamine and zolazepam

Cited by 107 publications

References 21 publications

Humans and the Southern Elephant Seal Mirounga leonina

Humans and the Southern Elephant Seal Mirounga leonina

Southern elephant seal foraging success in relation to temperature and light conditions: insight into prey distribution

Horizontal and vertical movements as predictors of foraging success in a marine predator

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