Publications by authors named "Katie R N Florko"
Background: Animal movement data are regularly used to infer foraging behaviour and relationships to environmental characteristics, often to help identify critical habitat. To characterize foraging, movement models make a set of assumptions rooted in theory, for example, time spent foraging in an area increases with higher prey density.
Methods: We assessed the validity of these assumptions by associating horizontal movement and diving of satellite-telemetered ringed seals (Pusa hispida)-an opportunistic predator-in Hudson Bay, Canada, to modelled prey data and environmental proxies.
Article Synopsis
- Arctic sea ice loss impacts predators like the ringed seal, especially due to changing prey dynamics.
- Under low greenhouse gas emission scenarios, changes to the prey base are minor, but under high emissions, Arctic cod populations could drop by 50% while smaller temperate fish may increase in numbers.
- Overall fish species may see a decrease in body size, yet total prey biomass could rise by 29%, potentially affecting energy availability for Arctic predators.
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) rely on annual sea ice as their primary habitat for hunting marine mammal prey. Given their long lifespan, wide geographic distribution, and position at the top of the Arctic marine food web, the diet composition of polar bears can provide insights into temporal and spatial ecosystem dynamics related to climate-mediated sea ice loss. Polar bears with the greatest ecological constraints on diet composition may be most vulnerable to climate-related changes in ice conditions and prey availability.
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