Weddell Seal Science

About Those Weddell Puppies...

When it comes right down to it, the Weddell seal population study involves a lot of time focusing on Weddell seal pups.  How many Weddell seal pups are born in the Erebus Bay Antarctica study area each year, how much some of those pups weigh at birth and weigh when they are weaned, how much time is spent by  Weddell pups swimming in the water during the nursing period, and how many pups survive and return to have pups of their own, are vital data gathered by the Weddell seal population study research field team.  

During the nursing period Weddell pups, like the one in the photo below by Weddell seal population project field team researcher Jesse DeVoe, are frequently visible on top of the sea ice and are accessible to the researchers.  This accessibility makes it possible for population researchers to tag the seal pups soon after birth with small identifying tags, and determine how many pups are born each year in the Erebus Bay study area. 

And this year has been a great one for Weddell seal births.  So far in the Erebus Bay Weddell seal population study area, "the population produced over 580 pups this year making it another in a series of high-production years," says Montana State University ecologist Jay Rotella.  Jay Rotella and Bob Garrott, professors at Montana State University, and Don Siniff, professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota, are the lead scientists on this National Science Foundation funded Weddell seal population study project.

Weddell pups are born on top of the sea ice.  At birth they are covered with a soft lanugo coat that does not provide adequate insulation in the cold Antarctic sea water.  The pup in the photo below by Weddell seal population project field team researcher Jessica Farrer is very young and still wearing its lanugo.

Over the next several days after birth, the pup's lanugo coat will be replaced by a coat that is better suited to life in cold water, as with this pup in the photo below by Weddell seal population project field team researcher Darren Roberts.

Usually when the pups are one to two weeks old they will begin to swim with the encouragement and assistance of their moms.  To ready their pups for life in the ocean world, Weddell moms spend a lot of time in the water with their pups as the Weddell pups begin to swim. 

In this wonderful underwater video, Antarctic diver, imager, and musician Henry Kaiser, working with Weddell seal project B-470, captures the playful behavior of a Weddell pup swimming with its mom beneath the surface of the sea ice.

Over the remaining week or two of the 2012 pupping season in the Erebus Bay study area, the Weddell seal population study research field team will continue to look for new pups in the study area. 

The B-009 research field team members will complete surveys of the entire population of Weddell seals in the Erebus Bay study area, and take final weights on a limited number of pups, before the pups are weaned and left by their mothers to fend for themselves as the sea ice begins to melt with the approaching Antarctic Summer.

- Mary Lynn Price

Weddell Seal Twins

Weddell seal twin pups have been sighted and tagged this season by the Weddell seal field research team at Turks Head Weddell seal colony.  Weddell seal field team leader and Montana State University PhD student Thierry Chambert reports that the Weddell mom is 21 years old and has had 11 pups prior to this season.  These new twins bring her pup total to 13 pups born to date over her lifetime.

This Weddell mom was born in 1991 at Turks Head Weddell seal pupping colony.  After that, she was not seen again by the study team until age 3 at Turks Head, and again at age 4 at Tent Island.  She was seen at age 6 at both Tryggve and Big Razorback Island Weddell seal colonies.

She had her first pup when she was 7 years old at North Base Weddell seal colony.  Following her first pup at North Base, she has given birth to all of her subsequent pups at Turks Head colony where she was born, pupping at ages 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and now having twins at age 21.  She skipped pupping at ages 10, 12, and 14. 

This information is accessible to project scientists through the extensive long-term database maintained and updated every season on seals born in the Erebus Bay study area over the past 44 years of the population study's existence.

Weddell seal moms usually have only one pup per year, and average around 2 pups every 3 years.  It is very unusual for a Weddell mom to give birth to twins, and both pups rarely survive.

- Mary Lynn Price

Aerial Imaging

Weddell seal field research team members Jessica Farrer and Jesse DeVoe, and I were able to spend a little time in a helicopter over some of the Erebus Bay Weddell seal population study area recently to obtain some project aerial photography and video of some of the larger Weddell seal colonies here in Erebus Bay.  Below are images from Jessica and Jesse of two particularly interesting colony areas that are part of the ongoing Weddell seal population study. 

The first image by Jessica Farrer shows the Weddell seal colony at Big Razorback Island.  You can see numerous seals scattered out from the tide crack along this part of the island, and the study field camp in the upper right portion of the image.

In the image below by Jesse DeVoe, you can see some of the pressure ridges that form down from Ross Island toward the sea ice of Erebus Bay near an area called Turk's Head, which is the location of another large colony of Weddell seals.  You can see the sea ice edge off in the distance just beyond Cape Royds in the upper right portion of the image. 

For more of Jesse's aerial images, check out his post, An Aerial View.

- Mary Lynn Price

 

Melding Wildlife, Photography, Science, and Music

Many on the Weddell seal research field team are accomplished photographers and videographers, and contribute imaging to the project science and outreach efforts.  Darren Roberts is not only an imager, but also a gifted music composer and musician.  Darren's Nature and Noise blog melds together his diverse interests in wildlife, science, visual arts, and music.

Darren has worked as a biological research and field technician for numerous projects, including studies of monk seals, crocodiles, odontocetes, turtles, and fish, and has also provided field support for the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems on tests aimed at lunar and martian exploration.  He has been part of the Weddell seal population study research field team since 2011.

- Mary Lynn Price

Baby Boom!

The 2012 Weddell seal pupping season in Erebus Bay is on track for possibly another record setting birth year.  As of today, the field research team has tagged 538 Weddell seal pups in the Erebus Bay study area Weddell seal colonies.

At many of the seal colonies, such as the Big Razorback Island colony in the image below, the moms and pups can be seen all about on the ice surrounding the tide cracks, where the frozen sea ice meets the shorelines here in Erebus Bay. 

During the past two pupping seasons, the Weddell seal population study project reported record numbers of new pups born in the study area since the project began studying this population in the late 1960s.

- Mary Lynn Price

The 2012 Weddell Seal Population Study Research Team B-009

Here are the 2012 Erebus Bay Weddell seal population study Principal Investigators
and Research Field Team members of B-009, in alphabetical order:

Dr. Robert Garrott, Co-Principal Investigator
Bob is a Professor in the Ecology Department at Montana State University and director of the MSU Fish and Wildlife Ecology and Management Program. His work focuses on the abiotic and biotic ecological processes that influence mammalian populations and communities, in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and contributing to basic science as well as applied wildlife management and conservation through collaborations with state and federal natural resource agencies. Bob received his PhD in Wildlife Conservation, University of Minnesota, 1990. More on Bob.

 

Dr. Jay Rotella, Co-Principal Investigator
Jay is a Professor in the Ecology Department at Montana State University and member of the MSU Fish and Wildlife Ecology and Management Program. His work focuses on animal population ecology, modeling and estimation of population parameters, and effects of abiotic and biotic factors on population dynamics. Jay's research includes both basic and applied topics that span from management of wild populations to life-history evolution. Jay received his PhD in Wildlife Biology, University of Idaho, 1990. More on Jay.

Dr. Donald Siniff, Co-Principal Investigator
Don is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota where his work has centered on the population dynamics of large mammals. Don's research has focused on the population characteristics of three species of Antarctic seals, concentrating on a long-term program on Weddell seals with shorter term studies on the crabeater and leopard seals of the Antarctic. He has also studied sea otters in Alaska and California since 1975. Don received his PhD from the University of Minnesota, 1967. More on Don.

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Thierry Chambert, Weddell seal research field team leader
Thierry is a PhD Candidate in the Ecology Department at Montana State University, and has been working on the Weddell seal project since 2010. His current research focuses on the expression of individual differences, in terms of survival and reproduction abilities, in wild animal populations. He is interested in how 'latent individual heterogeneity' interacts with environmental variability to eventually give rise to differences in individual fitness observed in nature. This research is based on the Weddell seal as a biological model. More on Thierry.

 

Jesse DeVoe, Weddell seal research field team
Jesse is a graduate student and research assistant at Montana State University, and has been working with the Weddell seal field research team on the Weddell seal project since 2010. His ecology work includes field data collection techniques and analyses, developing research projects, writing scientific papers, digital imaging and science communication. He is also working on the Greater Yellowstone Area Mountain Ungulate Project. Jesse received his BS in Biological Sciences, Fish and Wildlife Management from MSU, 2009. Jesse's Aspiring Ecologist blog.

 

Jessica Farrer, Weddell seal research field team
Jessica has been working on the Weddell seal field research team since 2009.  She has worked as biotechnician and research assistant on projects involving harbor seals in Washington, Steller sea lions in Alaska, Hawaiian monk seals, and Galapagos sea lions, and has served as a North Pacific Groundfish Observer on fishing boats out of Alaska. Jessica has worked as a camera/research assistant for the BBC, and is an avid photographer, videographer, and scuba divemaster. She received her BA in Biology from Western Washington University, 2008.

 

Eric Johnston, Weddell seal research field team
Eric is a student at Montana State University in the Fish and Wildlife Management Program. He served 5 years as an Airborne Infantryman in the U.S. Army.  He has experience in small mammal trapping, and mountain plover surveys with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and has worked to help ranches manage property for both wildlife and livestock success and sustainability, doing soil and vegetation surveys, small mammal trapping, trail camera and track plates surveys, and work with livestock.  His goal is to go on to a Masters degree program involving wildlife studies.

 

Jason Jones, Weddell seal research field team
Jason has worked as a field biologist and environmental consultant on a number of projects since early 2000.  He has extensive offshore and remote field experience in marine biology ranging from coral reefs, sea turtles, cone snails, seabirds, cetaceans, and other pinnipeds, including the Hawaiian monk seal, Steller sea lion, Northern elephant seal, California sea lion, and Australian fur seal.  Jason received his MS in Biology from Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi in 2008.

 

 

Mary Lynn Price, Weddell seal project digital production
Mary Lynn has been working with the Weddell seal project since 2010 as an education and outreach video and multimedia producer and video podcaster.  Her digital production background includes short format videos for news and science organizations, education institutions, travel groups and scuba diving operations, film festivals, art galleries, and internet projects. For the Weddell seal project, she developed and maintains a Weddell Seal Science multimedia web portal, and produces short videos for public outreach and informal science education. More on Mary Lynn.

 

Darren Roberts, Weddell seal research field team
Darren has worked as a biological research and field technician for numerous projects, including studies of monk seals, crocodiles, odontocetes, turtles, and fish. He has boating and research diving skills, including SSI Dive Control Specialist certification. He also provided field support for the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems on tests aimed at lunar and martian exploration. He is an avid digital imager and music composer. Darren received his BA in Marine Science from the University of Hawai'i, Hilo, 2009. Darren's music and nature blog.

Weddell Seals Underwater by Henry Kaiser

Here is an awesome 21 minute compilation of underwater footage of Weddell seals filmed last year by long-time Antarctic diver, videographer, and musician Henry Kaiser. The beautiful soundtrack music for this compilation video was composed and played by Henry.

Henry is working here in Antarctica this year doing video with Weddell seal project B-470, and is filming Weddell seals both underwater and topside.  The B-470 research project is focusing on thermoregulation in Weddell seals.

- Mary Lynn Price

Weddell Seals in 3D - 1st Test Footage

For those of you interested  in 3D video, here is some 3D test footage of Weddell seal moms and pups presented via YouTube's 3D video viewer.

For best results, begin playing the video, then click on the "full screen" icon in lower right corner of the YouTube viewer to go full screen.  As the video begins playing you'll see more icons along the bottom of the viewer.  Click on the little gear icon to select a higher quality HD playback resolution for better 3D viewing, then click on the red "3D" icon to select among different kinds of 3D viewing. 

YouTube's 3D viewer gives you numerous options for many different kinds of 3D viewing, including various types of 3D anaglyph glasses (3D glasses using color lenses), and side-by-side viewing for both parallel and cross-eye viewing without 3D glasses.

You may also go directly to the 3D video on our YouTube Weddell Seal Science Channel.  Hope you enjoy the new 3D Weddell seal test footage!

- Mary Lynn Price

Weddell Pups Learning To Swim

Weddell seal field research team member Jesse DeVoe was there with his camera to get some wonderful new video of a mom and pup in a small swim hole.  The Weddell mom is enlarging the hole with her teeth to make the pup's entry and exit into the water easier, and encouraging her new pup to join her for a swim.  

Weddell moms take an active role in nurturing their pups during the nursing period, and helping them learn to get in and out of the water through the cracks and holes in the sea ice as they learn to swim.  Weddell pups usually begin swimming when they are approximately 1 to 2 weeks old.

Some of the new pups will receive small temporary temperature recording tags so that the research team can record how often they swim and for how long during the nursing period.

Here's one of our project videos about Weddell pup swimming activity and the temperature tag project: "Are Some Weddell Seal Pups Couch Potatoes?"

- Mary Lynn Price

A Very Old Weddell Mom with Her 20th Pup!

The field research team has discovered a 29 year old Weddell seal mom with her 20th pup at the Hutton Cliffs Weddell seal colony in Erebus Bay.  "This is a special female," says Montana State University ecologist Jay Rotella who is working with the field team out on the sea ice.  "She was born in 1983 at North Base [of the Erebus Glacier Tongue] and has had all her pups at Hutton Cliffs."  At 29 years old with her 20th pup born this year, she is one of the oldest Weddell mothers in the project's extensive database, and one of the most productive Weddell mothers in the history of the Erebus Bay population study.  The Weddell mom and pup is shown below in a photo by Jason Jones of the Weddell seal population study field research team.

 
Because of the project's long-term database of Weddell seals in the Erebus Bay study area, a database now covering 43 years, researchers are able to determine the pupping histories of most of these females.  They know when and where the mother seals were born, what years they had pups, and where, and whether those pups survived to have pups of their own.

By accessing the project's extensive database, Jay reports that the 29 year old seal first returned to the Erebus Bay seal colony at Hutton Cliffs at ages 5 & 6 without a pup in either of those early years.  She then had her 1st pup at age 7, which is average for new Weddell moms. 

What is so remarkable about this Weddell mom is that she has since had pups at ages 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 29.  Jay says, "That is pretty unusual in that she had 16 pups in a row and has had 20 pups overall!"  Weddell seal moms usually have around 2 pups every 3 years.  This seal skipped the most recent two years (ages 27 and 28) without having a pup, however she did show up at the South Base pupping colony both of those years. 

Most Weddell seal females live to around 15 years of age if they can make it through their first difficult years after weaning and being left to fend for themselves.  Only around 20% of Weddell female pups will survive long enough to have pups themselves; and they usually produce on average only a handful of pups each in their lifetimes. 

Weddell seal females born in Erebus Bay tend to return to Erebus Bay to have their pups, showing strong birth-site fidelity.  This 29 year old Weddell mom has given birth to all of her pups at Hutton Cliffs, which is a relatively short distance from her birth place at the North Base of the Erebus Glacier Tongue.

- Mary Lynn Price