Blubber fatty acid signature analysis of harbor seals in Alaska, 1997-2010.

Neises, Victoria M., 1985-

Blubber fatty acid signature analysis of harbor seals in Alaska, 1997-2010.

dc.contributor.advisor	Trumble, Stephen John.
dc.creator	Neises, Victoria M., 1985-
dc.creator.orcid	0000-0002-3787-1497
dc.date.accessioned	2022-06-03T13:19:28Z
dc.date.available	2022-06-03T13:19:28Z
dc.date.created	2022-05
dc.date.issued	2022-03-21
dc.date.submitted	May 2022
dc.date.updated	2022-06-03T13:19:29Z
dc.description.abstract	The projected course and rate of global climate change presents major challenges to the wellbeing and survival of Arctic and subarctic marine mammals. In Alaska, the harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) broad range and severe population decline within certain regions led to increased research efforts to investigate the potential influence of diet changes on their lack of recovery. While these studies provide the foundation of knowledge regarding Alaskan harbor seal foraging ecology, detailed temporal and spatial changes in the harbor seals diet and possible impacts of diet overlap with other Alaskan pinnipeds has yet to be investigated. To date, the majority of harbor seal diet studies have used traditional diet determination methods. Due to the inherent limitations and sampling biases associated with these traditional techniques, blubber fatty acid (FA) analysis has emerged as one of the best methods of investigating diet in marine mammals. The goal of this dissertation was to characterize blubber FAs of Alaskan harbor seals through the evaluation of 15-years of blubber FA signatures. To gain an understanding of spatial and temporal differences, harbor seal blubber FA profiles were qualitatively investigated for regional, seasonal, and age class differences. In addition, to examine possible prey resource partitioning between different species populations, we compared regional and seasonal FA profiles of harbor seals and Steller sea lions within Prince William Sound and Southeast, Alaska. Lastly, differences between harbor seal reproductive state (pregnant, lactating, non-lactating-non-pregnant females), mother-pup pairs, and pinniped families were investigated to explore harbor seal blubber FA distribution during lactation. Key findings demonstrate the large degree of diet variability among harbor seal stocks within Alaska and shed light on how diet differences among Alaskan pinniped populations, and the physiological and behavioral limitations of the harbor seal lactation strategy, may be impairing population recovery in certain areas. As a sentinel species in Alaska, the ability to survey blubber FAs of harbor seals provides a way to not only monitor diet changes that could lead to population level impacts, but also provides a means to oversee prey community changes and ecosystem health within the regions they inhabit.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/2104/11962
dc.language.iso	en
dc.rights.accessrights	No access – contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu
dc.subject	Harbor seals. Alaska. Fatty acids. Blubber.
dc.title	Blubber fatty acid signature analysis of harbor seals in Alaska, 1997-2010.
dc.type	Thesis
dc.type.material	text
local.embargo.lift	2027-05-01
local.embargo.terms	2027-05-01
thesis.degree.department	Baylor University. Dept. of Biology.
thesis.degree.grantor	Baylor University
thesis.degree.level	Doctoral
thesis.degree.name	Ph.D.