Contest behaviour and offspring investment in female northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) ...
Parental characteristics and environment can affect survival and future reproductive success of offspring. In pinnipeds, mothers provide maternal care by producing milk and protecting their young from threats on land, e.g., attacks from other females. Contest behaviour and dominance structure of fem...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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Memorial University of Newfoundland
2024
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.48336/reyz-3665 https://research.library.mun.ca/15907/ |
| Summary: | Parental characteristics and environment can affect survival and future reproductive success of offspring. In pinnipeds, mothers provide maternal care by producing milk and protecting their young from threats on land, e.g., attacks from other females. Contest behaviour and dominance structure of females have been studied little in pinnipeds. I studied these subjects in breeding northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris). The purpose of my research was to investigate inter-female contest behaviour in relation to social and physical environments, female social organization, and maternal investment, with emphasis on sexual-size dimorphism in pups. I analysed data collected by the Elephant Seal Research Group during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 breeding seasons at Islas San Benito, Mexico, near the southern limit of the species’ breeding range; almost all past research has been conducted in California. Through behavioural observations, I investigated relationships of aggressive behaviour to female ... |
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