Measuring the effects of human activity on Weddell Seals (Leptonychotes weddellii)

The number of people travelling to Antarctica is growing, with much of the recent increase in visitor numbers attributable to an expansion in commercial tourism (Enzenbacher 1992; 1994). Most visitors to the region seek direct interactions with the wildlife and so visit breeding groups of seals and seabirds (Stonehouse 1965; Muller-Schwarze 1984). Invariably, this involves travelling to breeding sites by helicopter, inflatable motorised boat (e.g. zodiac) or over-snow vehicle, then making relatively close approaches on foot to photograph and observe the animals. At present, there is information to suggest that visitation can have a negative effect on some Antarctic wildlife, causing changes to behaviour, physiology and breeding success (Culik et al. 1989; Woehler et al. 1994, Giese 1996; Giese 1998, Giese and Riddle 1999). However, the responses of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) to human activity have never been systematically examined. As a result, any guidelines to control human activity around these animals are based either on opportunistic observations of seal response, and/or assumptions as to the level of disturbance seals are experiencing.

Therefore, the primary objective of the research is to measure the responses of Weddell seals to various human disturbance stimuli. In so doing, the research aims to make quality information available for the development of a comprehensive and scientifically based set of guidelines for managing interactions between people and Antarctic seals.

The research will adopt an experimental approach, whereby seals are experimentally exposed to particular types and intensities of human activity while their responses are objectively quantified. As far as possible, experiments are designed to replicate actual disturbances that Weddell seals are presently exposed to in Antarctica. As such, the responses of cow/pup pairs to approaches by pedestrians, over-snow vehicles and helicopters will be examined. In particular, experiments will investigate how approach distance (or altitude), approach speed, time of day, weather conditions and the time of the breeding season, influence the responses of Weddell Seals to these disturbance stimuli. Disturbance responses will be quantified by measuring the behaviour and heart rate of individual seals and the haul-out behaviour of entire groups of animals. Experiments will also be conducted to quantify the sound generated by vehicle operations in Antarctica to help determine whether anthropogenic noise effects vocal communication among Weddell seal, as indicated by changes in their calling rates.

Also see the metadata record entitled: Behavioural responses of Weddell seals to human activity.

At this stage most of the analysis is in progress and therefore it is not possible to provide complete data sets. These will be submitted upon the completion of the work. The attached word document summarises the experiments that have been completed during the three field seasons to date (up to the end of the 2002/2003 season), which included, the experiment type, location and sample size.

The two excel data sheets 'Experimental recording details' provide information on the video recordings that were made during the 2001/2002 and the 2002/2003 summers. These details state the experimental procedure, the details of the experimental, the time, date etc. They include Hi8 video camera recordings of Weddell seal behaviour and DAT recordings of vocalisations.

Biological data collected during the 2002/2003 summer include:
Collected 10 sample of blood (up to 50 ml each)
Collected 6 samples of urine
Collected 11 samples of fur
Collected 9 samples of blubber
Collected 6 samples of faecal swabs (from the ice or thermometer)
Conducted a post mortem on a recently deceased seal and collected organ and tissue samples.

These samples are being analysed by investigators in ASAC 1144. When results are available they will documented in either ASAC 1148 or 1144.

The fields in this dataset are:

Date
Time
Tape Number
Counter Number
Camera Number
Cow ID
New ID
Event
Respiration Rate
Heart Rate
Where Approached
Position of Pup
Distance of Closest Pair
Distance of Tide Crack
Location
Wind Direction
Cloud Cover
Temperature
Wind Speed
Conductivity
Salinity
pH

Further data has been added to the archive for up to the end of the 2006. These include data files, plus scanned field notes taken during the project. Finally, video tapes relating to the project have also been stored in the Australian Antarctic Division's multimedia library.

前往南极洲的旅行人数持续增长，近期游客规模的大幅增加主要归因于商业旅游的扩张（Enzenbacher 1992；1994）。该区域的多数游客期望与野生生物进行直接互动，因此会前往海豹与海鸟的繁殖群体栖息地（Stonehouse 1965；Muller-Schwarze 1984）。此类行程通常需乘坐直升机、充气动力艇（如Zodiac橡皮艇）或雪地车前往繁殖位点，随后步行近距离接近动物以进行拍摄与观测。

现有研究表明，人类到访会对部分南极野生生物产生负面影响，导致其行为、生理状态及繁殖成功率发生改变（Culik et al. 1989；Woehler et al. 1994；Giese 1996；Giese 1998；Giese and Riddle 1999）。但目前尚未有研究对威德尔海豹（Leptonychotes weddellii）对人类活动的响应进行系统性探究。因此，当前用于管控该区域人类活动的相关指南，要么基于对海豹响应的偶然观测，要么源自对海豹所受干扰程度的假设。

据此，本研究的核心目标为量化威德尔海豹对各类人类干扰刺激的响应。通过此项研究，旨在为制定一套全面且基于科学依据的南极海豹与人互动管理指南提供高质量的研究数据。

本研究将采用实验研究方法，在对威德尔海豹的响应进行客观量化的同时，使其暴露于特定类型与强度的人类活动干扰中。实验设计尽可能还原威德尔海豹在南极当前所承受的实际干扰场景。据此，研究将考察母海豹与幼海豹配对组对步行者、雪地车及直升机接近的响应。具体而言，实验将探究接近距离（或飞行高度）、接近速度、时段、天气条件以及繁殖季时间如何影响威德尔海豹对上述干扰刺激的响应。干扰响应将通过测定个体海豹的行为与心率，以及整群海豹的上岸行为进行量化。此外，本研究还将开展实验量化南极地区车辆运行产生的声响，以探究人为噪声是否会通过改变威德尔海豹的鸣叫频率，影响其声学通讯。

另可参阅题为《威德尔海豹对人类活动的行为响应》的元数据记录。

截至目前，多数分析工作仍在进行中，因此暂无法提供完整数据集。完整数据集将在研究工作全部完成后提交。附件中的Word文档汇总了截至2002/2003季结束时，三个野外季已完成的实验内容，包括实验类型、实施地点与样本量。

两张名为"Experimental recording details"的Excel数据表提供了2001/2002与2002/2003夏季开展的影像录制相关信息，其中涵盖实验流程、实验参数、时间与日期等内容，包括威德尔海豹行为的Hi8摄像机录制数据，以及其鸣叫声的DAT录制数据。

2002/2003夏季采集的生物样本数据如下：
- 血液样本10份（每份最多50ml）
- 尿液样本6份
- 毛皮样本11份
- 鲸脂样本9份
- 粪便拭子样本6份（采集自冰面或温度计）
- 对一头近期死亡的海豹进行了尸检，并采集了器官与组织样本

上述样本目前正由ASAC 1144项目组的研究人员进行分析。待分析结果出炉后，相关成果将被记录于ASAC 1148或ASAC 1144项目文档中。

本数据集包含以下字段：
Date（日期）、Time（时间）、Tape Number（磁带编号）、Counter Number（计数器编号）、Camera Number（摄像机编号）、Cow ID（母海豹编号）、New ID（新编号）、Event（事件）、Respiration Rate（呼吸频率）、Heart Rate（心率）、Where Approached（接近位置）、Position of Pup（幼海豹位置）、Distance of Closest Pair（最接近配对距离）、Distance of Tide Crack（潮沟距离）、Location（采样地点）、Wind Direction（风向）、Cloud Cover（云量）、Temperature（气温）、Wind Speed（风速）、Conductivity（电导率）、Salinity（盐度）、pH（pH值）

截至2006年末，归档数据已进一步补充完善，新增内容包括数据文件，以及项目实施期间采集的扫描版野外笔记。此外，本项目相关的录像带已存储于澳大利亚南极署（Australian Antarctic Division）多媒体库中。