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Ontogenetic and gender-related variation in the isotopic niche within and between three species of fur seals (genus Arctocephalus)

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Abstract

We used an isotopic approach to investigate the intra- and interspecific differences in spatial and trophic ecology of three species of the fur seal genus Arctocephalus that inhabit distinct climatic zones: subtropical (A. australis n = 22), subantarctic (A. tropicalis n = 8), and polar (A. gazella n = 10). We obtained sequential δ 13C and δ 15N values in dentine from canine teeth of specimens found along the southern Brazilian coast. We calculated isotopic niches where axes were used as a surrogate for trophic (δ 15N) and spatial (δ 13C) dimensions of the ecological niche. Further, we adjusted generalized additive mixed models to chronological data of δ 13C and δ 15N to investigate the ontogenetic variation of the isotopic niche. The three species showed significant segregation in both spatial and the trophic dimensions as a result of foraging at different latitudes. Within A. australis, males occupied higher trophic positions than females. Furthermore, some isotopic niche overlap was found between sexes in A. tropicalis and A. gazella, though sample sizes preclude conclusive interpretation. Marked ontogenetic variation in the isotopic niche, especially in the early years, was observed in all species. Isotopic niche suggest that intra- and interspecific competition in these otariids is minimized by different degrees of spatial and trophic segregation.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to all researchers and volunteers from the ECOMEGA-IO-FURG. We are grateful to Eduardo P. Renault for helping us with GAMM. We would like to thank A.M. Meissner who kindly helped us with the predicted C & N plots. Our grateful thanks to Damián Vales, Leandro Bugoni and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the manuscript. Special thanks go to CAPES/AuxPe and Yaqu Pacha (Germany) for the financial support to this work. The “Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq” (Brazil) provided a research fellowship to E.R.S. (PQ 307846/2014-8) and CAPES provided a scholarship to T.L.A. S.B. is currently postdoctoral fellow (CAPES-PNPD Institucional 2931/2011). This article is part of T.L. Albernaz’s Master of Science Dissertation in Biological Oceanography (IO - FURG, RS, Brazil) under the supervision of S. Botta and E.R. Secchi and is a contribution of the research groups “Ecologia e Conservação da Megafauna Marinha-EcoMega/CNPq” and “Grupo de Análises de Isótopos Estáveis em Ambientes Aquáticos (GAIA-FURG).”

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  1. Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação da Megafauna Marinha – ECOMEGA, Avenida Itália km 8 s/n, 96203-900, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil

    Thaise Lima de Albernaz, Eduardo R. Secchi & Silvina Botta

  2. Laboratório de Ecologia de Mamíferos, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Av. Unisinos, 950, 93022-750, São Leopoldo, RS, Brazil

    Larissa Rosa de Oliveira

  3. Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul, Rua Machado de Assis, 1456, 95520-000, Osório, RS, Brazil

    Larissa Rosa de Oliveira

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  1. Thaise Lima de Albernaz
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  2. Eduardo R. Secchi
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  3. Larissa Rosa de Oliveira
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  4. Silvina Botta
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Correspondence to Silvina Botta.

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de Albernaz, T.L., Secchi, E.R., de Oliveira, L.R. et al. Ontogenetic and gender-related variation in the isotopic niche within and between three species of fur seals (genus Arctocephalus). Hydrobiologia 787, 123–139 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-2950-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-2950-0

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