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Residence of the leopard seal in the Magellan Strait: a potential sub-Antarctic population inhabiting the waters of Southern Chile?

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Abstract

The leopard seal is widely distributed on the Antarctic pack ice, but a number of individuals are also thought to displace north from the pack ice to the sub-Antarctic Islands or venture even farther north. In Chile, the leopard seal has been reported mainly in the Fueguian Archipelago, with individuals sighted year-round; however, the data to date have been unable to determine whether it is the same individuals who remain year-round. Thus, one of the questions to be resolved is whether there is a northward dispersion of individuals from the Southern Ocean returning to the Antarctic continent, or alternatively if there is a potential sub-Antarctic population that delay or suspend their migration toward the Antarctic region. Opportunistic sightings of a solitary seal at Ballena Sound (53°41′S, 72°37′W), Magellan Region, Chile, were documented in photographs on six occasions from January to May 2012. Based on the review of the photographs, the leopard seal was identified as the same individual. This finding provides the first evidence of a long occupation by a leopard seal in the fjords and channels of Fueguian Region, suggesting the existence of a small population inhabiting the waters of Southern Chile year-round.

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Acknowledgments

This work would not have been possible without the support of the Captain and crews of M/N Forrest and the skipper of the inflatable boat. We thank the Directorship of CEQUA and the Grant R07K1002 Conicyt Regional/GORE Magallanes funding Agency for their support of our Marine Mammal Research. We also thank two referees and Dr. A. N. Hendrix for improving the manuscript. This is publication No 46 of the Marine Mammal Research Program of Fundación CEQUA.

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  1. Centro de Estudios del Cuaternario de Fuego-Patagonia y Antártica (CEQUA), 21 de Mayo 1690, Punta Arenas, Chile

    Jorge Acevedo

  2. Angel Viano 150, Puerto Natales, Chile

    Francisco Martinez

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  1. Jorge Acevedo
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  2. Francisco Martinez
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Correspondence to Jorge Acevedo.

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Acevedo, J., Martinez, F. Residence of the leopard seal in the Magellan Strait: a potential sub-Antarctic population inhabiting the waters of Southern Chile?. Polar Biol 36, 453–456 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1275-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1275-3

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