Travis C. Knox

Deakin University · School of Life and Environmental Science

Top-order predators play an important role in the structure and function of marine ecosystems. Optimal foraging theory predicts that predators will utilise foraging strategies that maximise their net energetic intake, and consequently, individuals within a population may utilise alternate strategies to target different prey resources. The present s...

Optimal foraging theory predicts that predators will employ strategies that maximise their net energetic return. Foraging site fidelity (the re-use of a prior foraging area) is assumed to be beneficial, because it facilitates direct travel to foraging areas and familiarity with a foraging area may confer energetic advantages over the lifetime of an...

Marine predators play an important role in the structure and function of the ecosystems they inhabit. Knowing where marine predators forage and how individual strategies vary, therefore, has important implications for our understanding of ecosystem processes as well as species management and conservation. However, within fur seals and sea lions, kn...

While sexual segregation is expected in highly dimorphic species, the local environment isa major factor driving the degree of resource partitioning within a population. Sexual andindividual niche segregation was investigated in the Australian fur seal (Arctocephaluspusillus doriferus), which is a benthic foraging species restricted to the shallow...

Despite global declines in the abundance of marine predators, knowledge of foraging ecology, necessary to predict the ecological consequences of large changes in marine predator abundance, remains enigmatic for many species. Given populations suffering severe declines are of conservation concern, we examined the foraging ecology of southern sea lio...

To detect and monitor long-term ecosystem responses to environmental variability, managers must utilize reliable and quantitative techniques to predict future ecosystem responses. Canine teeth from 67 male Australian fur seals (aged 2–19 yr), collected at Seal Rocks, between 1967 and 1976, were measured for relative growth within the dentine growth...