- Title
- Seal carrion is a predictable resource for coastal ecosystems
- Creator
- Quaggiotto, Maria-Martina; Barton, Philip; Morris, Christopher; Moss, Simon; Pomeroy, Patrick
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/181831
- Identifier
- vital:16028
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2018.02.010
- Identifier
- ISBN:1146-609X (ISSN)
- Abstract
- The timing, magnitude, and spatial distribution of resource inputs can have large effects on dependent organisms. Few studies have examined the predictability of such resources and no standard ecological measure of predictability exists. We examined the potential predictability of carrion resources provided by one of the UK's largest grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) colonies, on the Isle of May, Scotland. We used aerial (11 years) and ground surveys (3 years) to quantify the variability in time, space, quantity (kg), and quality (MJ) of seal carrion during the seal pupping season. We then compared the potential predictability of seal carrion to other periodic changes in food availability in nature. An average of 6893 kg of carrion ∙yr−1 corresponding to 110.5 × 103 MJ yr−1 was released for potential scavengers as placentae and dead animals. A fifth of the total biomass from dead seals was consumed by the end of the pupping season, mostly by avian scavengers. The spatial distribution of carcasses was similar across years, and 28% of the area containing >10 carcasses ha−1 was shared among all years. Relative standard errors (RSE) in space, time, quantity, and quality of carrion were all below 34%. This is similar to other allochthonous-dependent ecosystems, such as those affected by migratory salmon, and indicates high predictability of seal carrion as a resource. Our study illustrates how to quantify predictability in carrion, which is of general relevance to ecosystems that are dependent on this resource. We also highlight the importance of carrion to marine coastal ecosystems, where it sustains avian scavengers thus affecting ecosystem structure and function. © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Philip Barton" is provided in this record**
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V.
- Relation
- Acta Oecologica Vol. 88, no. (2018), p. 41-51
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS
- Rights
- Open Access
- Subject
- 3103 Ecology; 'Carcass; Coastal; Pinniped; Predictability; Relative standard error; Resource subsidy; Scavenger
- Full Text
- Reviewed
- Funder
- This work was supported in part by NERC National Capability funding to the Sea Mammal Research Unit (grant no. SMRU1001 ). MMQ was funded by a College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences PhD Scholarship (University of Glasgow) to undertake this research. MMQ, DJM and DMB designed the study; CDM, SEWM and PPP contributed to data collection; MMQ analysed the data and wrote the manuscript; PSB, DJM and DMB contributed to the manuscript preparation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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