Duration of lactation and postweaning changes in mass and body composition of harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, pups
We studied changes in body mass and body composition of harbour seal pups from weaning to 5 – 6 weeks postweaning in June – August 1988 and 1989 on Sable Island, Canada. Known-age pups (n = 52) were captured at 3-day intervals from late lactation through about 40 days postweaning. Pups were weaned,...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Language: | English |
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1993
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z93-194 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z93-194 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z93-194 2024-05-19T07:41:38+00:00 Duration of lactation and postweaning changes in mass and body composition of harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, pups Muelbert, M. M. C. Bowen, W. D. 1993 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z93-194 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z93-194 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 71, issue 7, page 1405-1414 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 1993 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z93-194 2024-04-25T06:52:00Z We studied changes in body mass and body composition of harbour seal pups from weaning to 5 – 6 weeks postweaning in June – August 1988 and 1989 on Sable Island, Canada. Known-age pups (n = 52) were captured at 3-day intervals from late lactation through about 40 days postweaning. Pups were weaned, on average, at 24.1 ± 0.44 days (mean ± SE) postpartum at a body mass of 24.9 ± 0.45 kg. There were no significant differences between years or sexes in the age and mass at weaning or in the rate of mass loss during the postweaning period. The duration of the postweaning fast averaged from 15 – 17 days as assessed by stomach lavage. The rate of mass loss was independent of weaning mass. At weaning, pups contained an average of 47.7% water and 32.8% fat, based on deuterium oxide dilution. During the first 14 days postweaning, the estimated body composition of pups did not change, despite the loss of body mass. Over the next 26 days, the estimated percent body water increased to about 63% and body fat declined to about 12%. The average energy density of harbour seal pups at weaning was low (16.3 kJ/g) compared with that of other phocids (17.7 – 22.2 kJ/g). This low energy density at weaning may reflect the highly aquatic and precocial development of harbour seal pups. Article in Journal/Newspaper harbour seal Phoca vitulina Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 71 7 1405 1414 |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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English |
description |
We studied changes in body mass and body composition of harbour seal pups from weaning to 5 – 6 weeks postweaning in June – August 1988 and 1989 on Sable Island, Canada. Known-age pups (n = 52) were captured at 3-day intervals from late lactation through about 40 days postweaning. Pups were weaned, on average, at 24.1 ± 0.44 days (mean ± SE) postpartum at a body mass of 24.9 ± 0.45 kg. There were no significant differences between years or sexes in the age and mass at weaning or in the rate of mass loss during the postweaning period. The duration of the postweaning fast averaged from 15 – 17 days as assessed by stomach lavage. The rate of mass loss was independent of weaning mass. At weaning, pups contained an average of 47.7% water and 32.8% fat, based on deuterium oxide dilution. During the first 14 days postweaning, the estimated body composition of pups did not change, despite the loss of body mass. Over the next 26 days, the estimated percent body water increased to about 63% and body fat declined to about 12%. The average energy density of harbour seal pups at weaning was low (16.3 kJ/g) compared with that of other phocids (17.7 – 22.2 kJ/g). This low energy density at weaning may reflect the highly aquatic and precocial development of harbour seal pups. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Muelbert, M. M. C. Bowen, W. D. |
spellingShingle |
Muelbert, M. M. C. Bowen, W. D. Duration of lactation and postweaning changes in mass and body composition of harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, pups |
author_facet |
Muelbert, M. M. C. Bowen, W. D. |
author_sort |
Muelbert, M. M. C. |
title |
Duration of lactation and postweaning changes in mass and body composition of harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, pups |
title_short |
Duration of lactation and postweaning changes in mass and body composition of harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, pups |
title_full |
Duration of lactation and postweaning changes in mass and body composition of harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, pups |
title_fullStr |
Duration of lactation and postweaning changes in mass and body composition of harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, pups |
title_full_unstemmed |
Duration of lactation and postweaning changes in mass and body composition of harbour seal, Phoca vitulina, pups |
title_sort |
duration of lactation and postweaning changes in mass and body composition of harbour seal, phoca vitulina, pups |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1993 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z93-194 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z93-194 |
genre |
harbour seal Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
harbour seal Phoca vitulina |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 71, issue 7, page 1405-1414 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z93-194 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
71 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1405 |
op_container_end_page |
1414 |
_version_ |
1799481243795980288 |