Data from: Integrating multiple technologies to understand the foraging behaviour of Hawaiian monk seals

The objective of this research was to investigate and describe the
foraging behaviour of monk seals in the main Hawaiian Islands.
Specifically, our goal was to identify a metric to classify foraging
behaviour from telemetry instruments. We deployed accelerometers,
seal-mounted cameras and GPS tags on six monk seals during 2012–2014 on
the islands of Molokai, Kauai and Oahu. We used pitch, calculated from the
accelerometer, to identify search events and thus classify foraging dives.
A search event and consequent ‘foraging dive’ occurred when the pitch was
greater than or equal to 70° at a depth less than or equal to −3 m. By
integrating data from the accelerometers with video and GPS, we were able
to ground-truth this classification method and identify environmental
variables associated with each foraging dive. We used Bayesian logistic
regression to identify the variables that influenced search events. Dive
depth, body motion (mean overall dynamic body acceleration during the
dive) and proximity to the sea floor were the best predictors of search
events for these seals. Search events typically occurred on long, deep
dives, with more time spent at the bottom (more than 50% bottom time). We
can now identify where monk seals are foraging in the main Hawaiian
Islands (MHI) and what covariates influence foraging behaviour in this
region. This increased understanding will inform management strategies and
supplement outreach and recovery efforts.