Natal site fidelity by breeding female southern elephant seals in relation to their history of participation in the winter haulout
Of the four types of terrestrial haulout periods undertaken by southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina, only the purpose of the winter haulout is unknown. Returning to a haulout site from distant pelagic foraging grounds bears significant costs in terms of increased energy expenditure, reduced fora...
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ftjafricanj:oai:ojs.ajol.info:article/82611 2023-05-15T16:05:36+02:00 Natal site fidelity by breeding female southern elephant seals in relation to their history of participation in the winter haulout Hofmeyr, GJG Kirkman, SP Pistorius, PA Bester, MN 2012-10-25 application/pdf http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/82611 eng eng NISC http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/82611/72773 http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/82611 Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the publisher. African Journal of Marine Science; Vol 34, No 3 (2012) 1814-232X info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed Article 2012 ftjafricanj 2017-03-05T06:46:59Z Of the four types of terrestrial haulout periods undertaken by southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina, only the purpose of the winter haulout is unknown. Returning to a haulout site from distant pelagic foraging grounds bears significant costs in terms of increased energy expenditure, reduced foraging time and increased exposure to predation; therefore, each haulout must serve a purpose. We examined the hypothesis that the winter haulout serves to maintain familiarity with the natal site, thereby increasing site fidelity. To this end, we analysed a long-term mark-recapture dataset for female southern elephant seals at Marion Island, Southern Ocean. Results indicate that, whereas greater natal site fidelity as primiparous females was associated with recorded presence ashore at the study site during the winter haulout as immatures, this was not the case for multiparous females. Furthermore, recorded presence ashore during both the moult haulouts as immatures, and all haulouts as immatures, irrespective of haulout type, was also associated with increased site fidelity. This suggests that any haulout at the natal island as an immature seal, whether for the moult or winter haulout, assists in maintaining site fidelity. Therefore, while the winter haulout facilitates greater natal site fidelity, whether this is the sole reason for this terrestrial period remains uncertain. Keywords: animal movement, dispersal, Mirounga leonina, SubantarcticAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2012, 34(3): 373–382 Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seals Marion Island Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean AJOL - African Journals Online Southern Ocean |
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AJOL - African Journals Online |
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ftjafricanj |
language |
English |
description |
Of the four types of terrestrial haulout periods undertaken by southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina, only the purpose of the winter haulout is unknown. Returning to a haulout site from distant pelagic foraging grounds bears significant costs in terms of increased energy expenditure, reduced foraging time and increased exposure to predation; therefore, each haulout must serve a purpose. We examined the hypothesis that the winter haulout serves to maintain familiarity with the natal site, thereby increasing site fidelity. To this end, we analysed a long-term mark-recapture dataset for female southern elephant seals at Marion Island, Southern Ocean. Results indicate that, whereas greater natal site fidelity as primiparous females was associated with recorded presence ashore at the study site during the winter haulout as immatures, this was not the case for multiparous females. Furthermore, recorded presence ashore during both the moult haulouts as immatures, and all haulouts as immatures, irrespective of haulout type, was also associated with increased site fidelity. This suggests that any haulout at the natal island as an immature seal, whether for the moult or winter haulout, assists in maintaining site fidelity. Therefore, while the winter haulout facilitates greater natal site fidelity, whether this is the sole reason for this terrestrial period remains uncertain. Keywords: animal movement, dispersal, Mirounga leonina, SubantarcticAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2012, 34(3): 373–382 |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hofmeyr, GJG Kirkman, SP Pistorius, PA Bester, MN |
spellingShingle |
Hofmeyr, GJG Kirkman, SP Pistorius, PA Bester, MN Natal site fidelity by breeding female southern elephant seals in relation to their history of participation in the winter haulout |
author_facet |
Hofmeyr, GJG Kirkman, SP Pistorius, PA Bester, MN |
author_sort |
Hofmeyr, GJG |
title |
Natal site fidelity by breeding female southern elephant seals in relation to their history of participation in the winter haulout |
title_short |
Natal site fidelity by breeding female southern elephant seals in relation to their history of participation in the winter haulout |
title_full |
Natal site fidelity by breeding female southern elephant seals in relation to their history of participation in the winter haulout |
title_fullStr |
Natal site fidelity by breeding female southern elephant seals in relation to their history of participation in the winter haulout |
title_full_unstemmed |
Natal site fidelity by breeding female southern elephant seals in relation to their history of participation in the winter haulout |
title_sort |
natal site fidelity by breeding female southern elephant seals in relation to their history of participation in the winter haulout |
publisher |
NISC |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/82611 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean |
genre |
Elephant Seals Marion Island Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seals Marion Island Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean |
op_source |
African Journal of Marine Science; Vol 34, No 3 (2012) 1814-232X |
op_relation |
http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/82611/72773 http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/82611 |
op_rights |
Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the publisher. |
_version_ |
1766401499987968000 |