FLEXIBILITY IN ECOPHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS
Species differ in their ability to adapt and respond to changes in their environment. Species that exhibit flexibility in behavioral, ecological, and physiological traits often have increased resilience to disturbance. This can allow animals to adapt to small-scale temporal and spatial changes (e.g., seasonal shifts in prey resources), as well as responding to larger-scale environmental changes (e.g., ocean warming, loss of sea ice). My research examines inter-and intraspecific flexibility in phenotypic traits by integrating behavioral, ecological, and physiological data collected from wild and captive animals.
Findings:
One of the most endangered marine mammals on the planet, the Hawaiian monk seal, exhibits behavioral and kinematic flexibility in their at-sea feeding strategies.
Hawaiian monk seals are able to adjust their feeding behavior and kinematics when targeting different prey types.
Preliminary results show that individual leopard seals show flexibility in at-sea movement patterns, dive behavior, and diet; however, this flexibility may not be enough to cope with the dramatic changes in their Antarctic habitat.
On going research:
I am currently collaborating with NOAA Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program to examine trade-offs between these different feeding strategies using video footage collected from wild seals to quantify differences in foraging success in declining populations.
As part of an NSF project, I am currently examining the foraging ecology and physiology of an apex Southern Ocean predator, the leopard seal.
