DISPERSAL OF MALE AND FEMALE ANTARCTIC FUR SEALS (ARCTOCEPHALUS-GAZELLA)

This study examined the foraging locations of adult male and female An tarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) in the Scotia Sea during the postbreeding period. Satellite transmitters were used to track adult males and females and to obtain information about dive depths. Male fu r seals migrated away from the breeding area during the postbreeding p eriod whereas females remained close to the breeding grounds and forag ed in the same area during two consecutive years. The most intensive f oraging by females was associated with the edge of:he continental shel f of South Georgia. Males dived deeper than females. Counts of males a t South Georgia and at the South Orkney Islands support the result fro m satellite tracking data showing that males move from South Georgia t o the South Orkney Islands at the end of the breeding season. Unlike m ales, females were limited in their foraging range by the necessity to return to feed dependent young, so breeding sites are likely to be lo cated close to foraging areas that are optimal for females. Locations used for feeding by females were avoided by males, either because they were suboptimal for males or because foraging by females at South Geo rgia causes local depletion of food, and males, which have the option to forage further afield, can forage more successfully in regions wher e there are no females. Comparison with fisheries data also suggests t hat these fur seals are targeting the most abundant exploitable prey.