Weddell-seal - Bio-logging and Satellite telemetry
The observation of seals with bio-logging and remote sensing technologies elucidates oceanographic bentho-pelagic processes in the Antarctic sea ice zone
Satellite-relayed dive loggers record water temperature and salinity data along the dives of the seals and send this data to satellites with polar orbits when the seals are surfacing. The reconciliation of seal borne data with wide-ranging oceanographic features provides new insights into intermediate and upper trophic level interactions in the ecosystem. Miniaturised infrared cameras, which are given to the animals for small-scale investigations in the transition area between the ice shelf and sea ice, spot prey objects from the perspective of the seals. In combination with remotely operated vehicles, the seals, as quasi-autonomous data collectors, improve our understanding of the distribution patterns of the animals, their food and the underlying bentho-pelagic coupling processes in the seasonally often difficult to access high-Antarctic sea ice zone. All data can be accessed via the Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science PANGAEA in the Marine Mammal Tracking Project