Agonistic behavior of male southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina Carnivora: Phocidae) at Isla 25 de Mayo, Antarctica

• Main Authors: Negrete, Javier, Juáres, Mariana, Ferrari, Héctor, Carlini, Alejandro, Mennucci, Jorge, Loza, Cleopatra
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Fundación Miguel Lillo 2011
• Subjects: Etograma; comportamiento agonístico; elefante marino; Antártida; Ethogram; agonistic behavior; elephant seal; Antarctic; 25 de Mayo; Elefante; isla 25 de Mayo; islas Shetland del Sur; Shetland del Sur; South Shetland Islands; Antarc*; Antarctica; Elephant Seal; Elephant Seals; Isla 25 de Mayo; Mirounga leonina; Southern Elephant Seal; Southern Elephant Seals
• Online Access: https://www.lillo.org.ar/journals/index.php/acta-zoologica-lilloana/article/view/238

An ethogram is a baseline tool in animal behavioral studies. Nevertheless, for the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina Linneo, 1758), a species in which males compete for access to females through agonistic encounters, the ethograms that are being used are based on literature reports, in which behaviors are adapted from other species or only mentioned without being described. As a result, some of the behavioral elements of the species are still unknown. Here we present an ethogram of male agonistic behavior obtained from systematic observations during three consecutive breeding seasons in a rookery situated in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It includes 27 behavioral acts, 6 of which have never been mentioned in the available literature for the species. This ethogram was compared to known behavioral inventories for the species. In addition, the frequencies of occurrence of each behavioral act were obtained for the complete set of observed agonistic interactions. A comparison of the use of each behavioral act by males of different social classes was performed. This allowed to characterize the agonistic behavior of each group during the breeding season. Un etograma es una herramienta base en el estudio del comportamiento animal. Sin embargo, para el elefante marino del sur (Mirounga leonina Linneo, 1758), especie en la que los machos compiten por el acceso a las hembras reproductivas mediante encuentros agonísticos, los etogramas que se usan se basan en reportes de la literatura, en los cuales se adaptan comportamientos de otras especies o solo se mencionan sin describirlos. Por lo tanto, existen comportamientos de la especie que aún no han sido identificados. Aquí se presenta un etograma referido al comportamiento agonístico de los machos, confeccionado a partir de la observación sistemática de este comportamiento durante tres temporadas reproductivas en la colonia ubicada en las islas Shetland del Sur, Antár tida. El mismo cuenta con 27 actos de conducta, 6 de los cuales nunca fueron mencionados ...