Publications database

Understanding how air-breathing diving animals moderate their dive behaviour when foraging successfully is foundational in the study of their foraging ecology. Yet, this fundamental relationship remains unresolved with previous research pointing to inconsistent relationships…

The weaning mass of southern elephant seal pups (Mirounga leonina) is a key predictor of their first-year survival probability. However, variations in pup morphometric characteristics (length, mass and body condition i.e. the residual of the allometric relationship between log(mass) and log(length))…

The long-held view that the East Antarctic margin is isolated from warm offshore waters has been challenged by recent observations showing incursions of warm modified Circumpolar Deep Water (mCDW) reaching several East Antarctic ice shelves. However…

Aim … To map presence, absence and ignorance of Antarctic seabird breeding occupancy at the spatial resolution of ice-free habitat sites to identify knowledge gaps and inform management and conservation. Location … East Antarctica between longitudes 30°?E and 150°?E.

Population monitoring provides information on species conservation status. We reassess the status of the southern elephant seal population at Macquarie Island. The number of cows on the isthmus, ~20% of the total population, correlated with counts for the whole island (i.e.

Robust prediction of population responses to changing environments requires the integration of factors controlling population dynamics with processes affecting distribution. This is true everywhere but especially in polar pelagic environments.

The Southern Ocean, its ecosystem, and inhabitants are vulnerable to climate-mediated shifts in habitat conditions. These changes can affect marine predators in the long term through changes in the distribution, density, and quality of prey.

Poor coverage of the Antarctic continental shelf bathymetry impedes understanding the oceanographic processes affecting Antarctica’s role in global climate. Continental shelf bathymetry influences warm modified Circumpolar Deep Water movement onto the shelf…

Contrasting regional changes in Southern Ocean sea ice have occurred over the last 30 years with distinct regional effects on ecosystem structure and function.

Investigating ecological relationships between predators and their environment is essential to understand the response of marine ecosystems to climate variability and change. This is particularly true in polar regions, where sea ice (a sensitive climate variable)…

Individual life-history traits, such as age and sex, influence vital rates in most large vertebrate species. Developmental differences are especially profound in polygamous mating systems. One of the most polygamous of all mammals, the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina)…

Fisheries are human activities that alter resource availability for species in marine ecosystems. While fisheries remove fish biomass, they may also provide new feeding opportunities to various marine predators. These species, depredating on catches directly on the fishing gear…

Antarctic polynyas are persistent open water areas which enable early and large seasonal phytoplankton blooms. This high primary productivity, boosted by iron supply from coastal glaciers, attracts organisms from all trophic levels to form a rich and diverse community.

Many populations of southern hemisphere baleen whales are recovering and are again becoming dominant consumers in the Southern Ocean. Key to understanding the present and future role of baleen whales in Southern Ocean ecosystems is determining their abundance on foraging grounds.

The first year of life is critical for large mammals to acquire foraging and predator avoidance skills. Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) pups wean at approximately three weeks of age and depart on their first foraging trips in midsummer…