Applicants

Professor Dr. Joseph Hoffman
Universität Bielefeld
Fakultät für Biologie
Arbeitsgruppe Evolutionäre Populationsgenetik
Konsequenz 45
33615 Bielefeld

Dr. Ilse van Opzeeland
Alfred-Wegener-Institut 
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung
Am Handelshafen 12
27570 Bremerhaven

Project description

Polar pinnipeds strongly depend on the availability of suitable ice habitats for breeding. Species differ in their habitat preferences, ranging from stable fast-ice to highly mobile pack-ice in offshore polar marine environments. In addition, food availability, predator dynamics and underwater acoustic conditions (soundscapes) are thought to set further temporal constraints on breeding. Underwater vocalizations play an important role in reproduction in these species and can be used as a proxy for breeding onset and activity. Recent studies suggest that sea-ice anomalies affect the acoustic occurrence of polar pinnipeds and may influence long-term reproductive success, and hence population viability, as climate change increases sea-ice variability. Changes in the sea ice environment also have repercussions for underwater soundscapes through the increased impact of wind and wave mediated sounds and increased anthropogenic presence. This study will combine large-scale, multi-year sea ice data with passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data from Antarctic and Arctic basins to investigate how sea ice conditions shape the timing of vocal behavior in seven ice-breeding pinniped species. In addition, this project will quantify local underwater soundscapes and evaluate soundscape characteristics in the light of changing ice conditions and pinniped vocal activity measures. Our datasets span several decades, capturing both baseline conditions and anomalous climate events, enabling robust comparisons.

DFG Programme Infrastructure Priority Programmes

Term since 2026