Dynamics of male dominance of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) during the breeding season at King George Island
ABSTRACT: Southern elephant male seals (Mirounga leonina Linnaeus, 1758) were studied at King George Island (62°14´S, 58°40´W) from September to December 1999. The first males came ashore at the beginning of September. Twenty−five adults were im− mobilized, hot iron branded, and measured. Thirteen o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.614.603 http://www.polar.pan.pl/ppr23/ppr23-153.pdf |
| Summary: | ABSTRACT: Southern elephant male seals (Mirounga leonina Linnaeus, 1758) were studied at King George Island (62°14´S, 58°40´W) from September to December 1999. The first males came ashore at the beginning of September. Twenty−five adults were im− mobilized, hot iron branded, and measured. Thirteen out of the 25 marked males spent an average of 66 (±8) days on land. Early arrival was positively correlated with the time spent ashore (r = 0.88, P < 0.05). Nine harems were formed in the study area. At the maxi− mum haul−out of females (28 October) mean harem size was 32±42 females (range 3–107). During the course of harem development, 10 changes in male harem dominance were observed. These changes were more frequent during the early (1–20 October, n = 6) than during the mid (21 October – 10 November, n = 2) and late (11–29 November, n = 2) periods of harem development. Overall, there were 14 dominant males; five of these in two different harems and nine in one harem. Of the 25 marked males, 44 % were resighted in the following breeding or moulting season, and 16 % seemed to improve their potential breeding success. Key words: male competition, southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina, pinnipeds |
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