Dr Mia Wege chaired the session on Marine Mammals during the 6th SANAP Symposium that resorts within the Marine and Antarctic Research Strategy – ecosystems, biodiversity and biodiscovery. The session includes talks on various marine and the presentations were arranged according roughly to species and area. This Included elephant seals, fur seal, Ross seal, whales in ice, whales along the Southern African coast The session was presented in panel, discussion format, that allowed for questions form the audience. (Photo Credit: ALSA Archive)
Dr Christian Murray: Understanding the drivers of Marion Island’s elephant seal population. (Abstract)
Leandri de Kock: Considering individual variation when investigating marine predator behaviours during life- history events(Abstract)
Dr Liezl Pretorius and Dr Greg Hofmeyr (presenting): Canine morphometrics as a tool for distinguishing species, sex and age in Southern Ocean fur seals(Abstract)
Dr Mia Wege: The conveyor belt of Ross seals in the Lazarev Sea and their behaviour. (Abstract)
Matthew Germishuizen: Sea ice declines coincide with a period of reduced reproductive success in Southern Ocean top predator (Abstract)
Oluwaseyi Paul Babalola: Entropy-based Detection and Classification of Bryde’s Whale Vocalizations: An Approach for Understanding and Conserving an Endangered Species(Abstract)
(Above L-R: Dr Christian Murray, Leandri de Kock, Dr Greg Hofmeyr, Oluwaseyi Paul Babalola)
It was great to see the Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit of the University of Pretoria based in Hermanus, Western Cape represented during the symposium by Dr Els Vermeulen, Matthew Germishuizen, Elisa Seyboth and Antonia Immerz. (Above L-R)
The Prince Edward Island scientific expedition was able to join the symposium on the 30th November and Chris Oosthuizen did his presentation in the session, ‘Data Management and the Summer Survey Participants’ chaired by Dr Christel Hansen. Liezel Pretorius was also able to join the conference on the Thursday. (Above L-R: Chris Oosthuizen, Liezel Pretorius, Yinhla Shihlomuhle)
Dr Chris Oosthuizen. Marine predators: ecosystem sentinels that help inform Southern Ocean management. (Abstract)
An initiative by Mia Wege was to use the SANAP symposium to bring all “bio loggers/trackers” together, that included researchers who tag animals, mostly top predators across the globe. The purpose was to get some structure going and talk about a potential larger workshop specifically for the entire community. The meeting was well represented, and this was a great opportunity used.
Two of the Principal investigators of the project were able to attend the symposium. ( Nico de Bruyn(left) – University of Pretoria and Jaco Versfeld (Right) Stellenbosch University)
Featuring research teams currently on the Gough Island takeover expedition.
The Tristan da Cunha Conservation Department recruited two Tristan Islanders to assist in the field at Tristan for the duration of the takeover. Image of the two members of a previous team.
During the annual Gough Island takeover (relief) expedition, the S.A. Agulhas II delivers passengers and cargo to Tristan da Cunha Island, which is 350 kilometers from Gough Island. Additionally, several researchers are given the chance to carry out their research at Tristan da Cunha during the relief period for Gough Island.
Prof Marthán Bester, semi-retired, Emeritus Professor and senior Research Fellow of the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, is currently on the Tristan da Cunha to conduct field research on Subantarctic fur seals.
Find our more below about this project and prospects for the takeover period.
TEAM
Tristan Mammal Research
Project Name
Subantarctic Fur Seals at the Tristan da Cunha Islands, South Atlantic Ocean
Principal Investigator
Prof Marthán Bester
University of Pretoria
Co-Principal Investigator
Prof Nico de Bruyn
University of Pretoria
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr Mia Wege
University of Pretoria
Co-Principal Investigator
Mr. Trevor Glass
Tristan Conservation Department Head
The history of fur seal research on Tristan da Cunha
Fur seal research at the Tristan da Cunha (TdC) Islands started during the 1970s (1974–1978). In its present form, the research continues through a next phase (2009–2019), and beyond.
Short description of the project
Using Subantarctic fur seals as bioindicators of environmental conditions and as tools for suitable management of natural resources, contributing to observing marine ecosystems in the TdC Islands, since 2019 and beyond, the aim is to: (a) determine the seasonal attendance patterns of primarily lactating adult females, from the smallest (incipient) population of the species in the world at Cave Point Peninsula, TdC, (b) measure and contrast the growth rate and/or weaning mass of pups at the Cave Point breeding colony (10 month nursing period), (c) collect scat (non-invasive) and whiskers (invasive) samples for diet analyses.
During this ‘takeover’ the team aims to service and/or retrieve the Attendance Pattern Automated System (satellite-linked) at Cave Point, collect and process fur seal scat samples to determine diet, and weigh pup/under-yearling fur seals (at around 290 days of age) to compare their weaning weights amongst years and with those of pups from other island populations (including Gough Island).
In everyday language
The fur seals breed and rest on the islands, and they feed at sea. The research team aims to determine (1) what the seals feed on when they are away during feeding trips, (2) how well the pups, which remain on land, grow on a diet of milk which they suck from their mothers when these return to land after each feeding trip, and (3) how far away from the island, and for how long, do the mothers of the fur seal pups have to remain at sea on each feeding trip to be able to sustain their pups until weaning.
For more information visit about Subantarctic fur seals, click on the link below.
This project is funded by: The National Research Foundation (NRF-SANAP), The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Tristan da Cunha Conservation Department (TdC Conservation Department).
Update posted by the Tristan Conservation Department (on Facebook, 09 October 2023):
“The weather has been very nice last week. The conservation team and professor Martian Bester managed to go to the caves to do seal work with the seal pups. It was a great success as they managed to weigh fifty pups. Martian has been working with the conservation department for fourty nine years but sadly this is his last year working with the conservation team as he is retiring”
Marion Island Marine Mammals in Changing Environments: Individual Heterogeneity and Population Processes
Principal Investigator
Prof Nico de Bruyn
Affiliation
Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria
Takeover Sealer
Yinhla Shihlomule
M79 Sealer
Michael Ross
M79 Sealer
Banele Dosi
M79 Killer whaler
Monica Leitner
M80 Sealer
Zafar Monier
M80 Sealer
Dylan Seaton
M80 Killer whaler
Tammy Eggeling
What are your plans for this takeover?
Into our 41st uninterrupted year of continuous monitoring! Takeover is mostly dedicated to training the new overwintering personnel, because most of the action (from a seal perspective) on the island take place outside takeover timeframes. Many long-term questions, aimed at understanding the ecology of the various species populations and their interactions with a changing environment, are pursued.
What are the main interest of the MIMMP in the sub-Antarctic region?
We are interested in how seal and killer whale populations change as the environment changes.
In more detail:
MIMMP does long-term ecological monitoring and research of four marine mammal species (Southern elephant seals, Antarctic – and Subantarctic fur seals, and Killer whales) at Marion Island. Focused primarily on population and foraging ecology, interactions between species and with their changing environments.
Check out the MIMMP Website!
Follow MIMMP on social media for the latest updates:
Most recent post on Facebook:
Text and images supplied by Prof Nico de Bruyn.
Featured image: The MIMMP takeover 2023 team. L-R: Dylan Seaton (M80 Sealer), Zafar Monier (M80 Sealer), Prof Nico de Bruyn (PI) and Tammy Eggeling (M80 Killer whaler). Photo taken in Cape Town, on board the S.A Agulhas II, before departure.
Anche Louw, South African Polar Research Infrastructure (SAPRI DPS Node), 02 May 2023
Congratulations Mia – from overwintering field assistant to lecturer at the University of Pretoria.
Dr Mia Wege was chosen as one of the “100 Women in Polar Science and Support” featured by Women in Polar Science. Mia is a true ‘go-getter’ and an inspiration to all young women in science!
Her connection with SANAP:
In 2009, her journey within the South African National Antarctic Programme started, where she joined the 66th Marion Island Overwintering Team as a “sealer” (Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme) field assistant (see overwintering team photo below). After this expedition, Mia started an MSc at the University of Pretoria, with her project titled: “Maternal foraging behaviour of Subantarctic fur seals from Marion Island”. During her time as MSc student, she applied to return to Marion Island for another year and returned as part of the 69th Marion Island Overwintering team from 2012 to 2013. In the same year of returning from her last overwinter expedition, she completed her MSc and started working on a PhD with her focus on “Population trend and foraging ecology of sympatric Antarctic and Subantarctic fur seals at Marion Island”. She has been on numerous other take-over expeditions to Marion Island, Gough Island, and Antarctica.
Mia completed her PhD, a 3-year Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Pretoria, and another 1-year Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Canterbury. She was recently employed as a lecturer at the University of Pretoria, Department of Zoology & Entomology.
We would like to congratulate Dr Mia Wege on all her qualifications obtained within the South African National Antarctic Programme and her new position as lecturer.
Her passion for the Antarctic is contagious and we encourage all ECR’s (Early Career Researchers) to work hard work and persevere.
Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean marine ecosystems are changing rapidly due to anthropogenic climate change. Seals, whales and seabirds, i.e. top-predators, are abundant and conspicuous components of the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Far-ranging and numerous consumers, they connect food webs and are influenced by the distribution of their prey. Labelled as sentinels of change, they are well-studied in comparison to other Antarctic and Southern Ocean taxa. (Image above: Ross Seal. Credit: Mia Wege)
Ross seals (Ommatophoca rossii), the least-studied of all the Antarctic pinnipeds, are unique in their foraging behaviour. Unlike other Antarctic marine predators, they travel north and away from the Antarctic continent. In summer, they hunt for prey in the open ocean, while in winter they spent the majority of their time within the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ), tracking the seasonal ice edge as it grows within winter. This unique behaviour raises several questions and opportunities to study the impacts of climate change on their ocean habitat. (Image above: Ross Seal Credit: Mia Wege)
This project aims to create an integrative view of Ross seals focusing on foraging ecology, physiology, and interactions with the MIZ. Fine-scale dive recorders will measure how Ross seals adapt their behaviour within the water column in response to environmental change. Novel physiological data collected on their aerobic dive limit and oxygen storage capabilities will determine whether this species is operating at, or close to, its maximum physiological capacity and therefore less capable of compensating for natural or anthropogenic changes in the environment.
A time-series created for compound-specific isotope analyses of amino acids using whisker segments will be able discern how specialised these predators are in their diet in relation to changes in a shifting isotopic baseline.Combining these three facets will determine the level of behavioural plasticity in Ross seals and their ability to cope with a changing environment.
Dr Mia Wege chaired the session on Marine Mammals during the 6th SANAP Symposium that resorts within the Marine and Antarctic Research Strategy – ecosystems, biodiversity and biodiscovery. The session includes talks on various marine and the presentations were arranged according roughly to species and area. This Included elephant seals, fur seal, Ross seal, whales in ice, whales along the Southern African coast The session was presented in panel, discussion format, that allowed for questions form the audience. (Photo Credit: ALSA Archive)
Two of the Principal investigators of the project were able to attend the symposium. ( Nico de Bruyn(left) – University of Pretoria and Jaco Versfeld (Right) Stellenbosch University)
Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean marine ecosystems are changing rapidly due to anthropogenic climate change. Seals, whales and seabirds, i.e. top-predators, are abundant and conspicuous components of the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Far-ranging and numerous consumers, they connect food webs and are influenced by the distribution of their prey. Labelled as sentinels of change, they are well-studied in comparison to other Antarctic and Southern Ocean taxa. (Image above: Ross Seal. Credit: Mia Wege)
Ross seals (Ommatophoca rossii), the least-studied of all the Antarctic pinnipeds, are unique in their foraging behaviour. Unlike other Antarctic marine predators, they travel north and away from the Antarctic continent. In summer, they hunt for prey in the open ocean, while in winter they spent the majority of their time within the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ), tracking the seasonal ice edge as it grows within winter. This unique behaviour raises several questions and opportunities to study the impacts of climate change on their ocean habitat. (Image above: Ross Seal Credit: Mia Wege)
A time-series created for compound-specific isotope analyses of amino acids using whisker segments will be able discern how specialised these predators are in their diet in relation to changes in a shifting isotopic baseline.Combining these three facets will determine the level of behavioural plasticity in Ross seals and their ability to cope with a changing environment.
Above: (Left) 
Crabeater seals
