Moult energetics of the northern elephant seal ( Mirounga angustirostris)

• Published in: Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Worthy, G. A. J., Morris, P. A., Costa, D. P., Boeuf, B. J. Le
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1992
• Subjects: Elephant Seal; Elephant Seals
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1992.tb04821.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1469-7998.1992.tb04821.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1992.tb04821.x; https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1992.tb04821.x

Northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris , undergo an annual moult during which they shed all of their pelage and underlying epidermis. Moulting takes place on land and lasts a mean of 32.0±6.6 days. During this time the mean mass loss of adult females was 24.7±6.1%. Mean body composition at arrival (25.6±4.8%fat) did not differ significantly from that at departure (24.9±3.2%fat). Fat catabolism accounted for 93.6%of derived energy and 41%of mass lost. Approximately 3.5%of total mass loss was associated with the shedding of the pelage and epidermis. Moulting female northern elephant seals express an average daily metabolic rate of 2.0±0.6 times that predicted for adult terrestrial mammals. This energy demand was met by losing 3.0 kg d ‐1 of total body mass. These energy expenditures suggest that, similar to data for harbour seals, the moult period is a time of relatively low energy expenditure.