Low trophic level diet of juvenile southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina from Marion Island : a stable isotope investigation using vibrissal regrowths

Abstract

Insight into the trophic ecology of marine predators is vital for understanding their ecosystem role and predicting their responses to environmental change. Juvenile southern elephant seals (SES) Mirounga leonina are considered generalist predators within the Southern Ocean. Although mesopelagic fish and squid dominate their stomach lavage samples, the stable isotope profile captured along the length of sampled vibrissae of young SES at Macquarie Island, southwest Pacific Ocean (54.5° S, 158.9° E) recently emphasized the contribution of crustaceans to their diet (likely Euphausia superba). Herein, we used the stable isotope values of sampled vibrissal regrowths with known growth histories to assess the diet of juvenile SES at Marion Island, southern Indian Ocean (46.8° S, 37.8° E) on a temporally integrated basis. We specifically aimed to quantify the possible contribution of crustaceans to the diet of juvenile SES. Sequentially (chronologically) sampled vibrissal regrowths of 14 juvenile SES produced fine-scale dietary information spanning up to 9 mo. The depleted stable isotope signatures of nitrogen (δ15N) (8.5 ± 0.6‰) and carbon (δ13C) (−20.3 ± 0.1‰) measured during the period of independent foraging suggested the use of a lower trophic level diet within the Polar Frontal Zone. A mixing model predicted that up to 76% of juvenile SES diet comprised crustaceans, consisting of 2 crustacean groups, each contributing 26% (credible interval, CI: 13−39%) and 50% (CI: 35−64%) to their diets, presumably representing subantarctic krill species. This first utilisation of the isotopic signature captured along the length of vibrissal regrowths confirms the inclusion and importance of crustaceans in the diet of juvenile SES.