Diving behaviour during the breeding season in the terrestrially breeding male grey seal: implications for alternative mating tactics

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 1025-1033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian C Lidgard ◽  
Daryl J Boness ◽  
W Don Bowen ◽  
Jim I McMillan
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Diving Behaviour ◽  
Halichoerus Grypus ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Alternative Mating Tactics ◽  
Grey Seal ◽  
Mating Tactics

We examined the diving behaviour of breeding male grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) at Sable Island, Nova Scotia, from 1997 to 2001. The proportion of time spent at sea varied between 0 and 78% (N = 30). Males engaged in deep (43.4 ± 3.3 m (mean ± SE), N = 27) diving, and these dives were clustered into bouts, which mostly occurred during long trips (62.2 ± 14.7 h). We suggest that males spent time foraging during deep dives. Shallow diving (5.9 ± 0.1 m, N = 27) accounted for 40.8% of dives, which were also clustered into bouts that mostly occurred during short trips (2.1 ± 0.37 h). We suggest that shallow diving comprised a suite of behaviours, but included little foraging behaviour. Phenotypic traits had little influence on diving behaviour. Further work is required to understand the extent to which foraging behaviour enhances reproductive success, and whether shallow diving is a component of the mating tactics of male grey seals at Sable Island.

scholarly journals Correlates of reproductive success within alternative mating tactics of the common shrew

1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 334-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Stockley ◽  
Jeremy B. Searle ◽  
David W. Macdonald ◽  
Catherine S. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Common Shrew ◽  
Alternative Mating Tactics ◽  
Mating Tactics ◽  
The Common

The behavior of adult gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) in the early stages of the breeding season

1969 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin W. Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Mass Movement ◽  
Territorial Behavior ◽  
Halichoerus Grypus ◽  
Breeding Area ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Gray Seals

A 4-week period, December 18, 1967, to January 16, 1968, was spent studying a colony of gray seals on the Basque Islands, Nova Scotia. Before hauling out on the breeding islands, the seals congregate on exposed reefs nearby, where they remain for several weeks. Once invasion of the breeding area begins there is a mass movement and the entire herd beaches within the space of a week. The first seal observed to haul out was a cow which whelped within 24 hours. The bulls take up stations almost immediately whereas the cows wander aimlessly over the breeding area until they have whelped. The spot at which the pup is born seems to determine the cow's station. For several days after the pup is born, the cow remains with it constantly; thereafter she goes to sea at regular intervals. For the first week to 10 days after beaching, the bulls exhibit no territorial behavior and it is possible the boundaries are not established until later. The resident bulls appeared to ignore each other and no fighting was observed.

Studies on the Life-History of the Ascarid Porrocaecum decipiens in the Bras d'Or Lakes, Nova Scotia, Canada

1960 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 763-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Scott ◽  
W. F. Black
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Phoca Vitulina ◽  
Halichoerus Grypus ◽  
Grey Seal ◽  
Important Food ◽  
History Of

Larvae of the parasitic ascarid (Porrocaecum decipiens) occurred commonly in the musculature and viscera of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Bras d'Or Lakes. They were also present in the musculature of nine other species of teleosts and probably also in the viscera of skates (Raja sp.). Most larvae were longer than 20 mm. None was shorter than 10 mm, a fact which suggested the existence of some earlier intermediate host, probably an invertebrate. More than 8,000 mysids, an important food of fishes when they first become infected, were examined for nematodes. Although 110 nematodes were found, only one certainly and four dubiously appeared to be Porrocaecum. The definitive hosts were the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) and the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus). The distribution of seals coincided with local variations in the incidence of the parasite in cod.

scholarly journals Preliminary analysis of reproductive success in a large mammal with alternative mating tactics, the Northern chamois,Rupicapra rupicapra

2015 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Corlatti ◽  
Bruno Bassano ◽  
Radka Poláková ◽  
Lorenzo Fattorini ◽  
Maria Chiara Pagliarella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Alternative Mating Tactics ◽  
Mating Tactics ◽  
Rupicapra Rupicapra ◽  
Large Mammal

Alternative mating tactics in the New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri): when non-territorial males are successful too

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 409 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Caudron ◽  
S. S. Negro ◽  
M. Fowler ◽  
L. Boren ◽  
P. Poncin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Alternative Mating Tactics ◽  
Alternative Tactics ◽  
Mating Tactics ◽  
Fur Seal ◽  
New Zealand Fur Seal

In polygynous mammals, the status of many males does not allow them to have a high social rank and theory predicts selection for alternative mating tactics. Alternative tactics were suggested to explain discrepancies between mating and paternity successes in several pinniped species. However, information on alternative tactics in fur seals is limited. Here, we focus on the polygynous New Zealand fur seal, Arctocephalus forsteri, predicting that competition for females is likely to cause a diversification of male mating tactics and that non-territorial tactics can yield reproductive success. We describe the behaviour of 38 males in a medium to large colony. Paternity success was assessed using CERVUS and PASOS, from a pool of 82 pups sampled at the study site and at neighbouring breeding areas. To see whether size is correlated with mating tactic, the length of 17 males was estimated using photogrammetry. Cluster analysis identified three male behavioural profiles: one corresponding to large territorial males and two illustrating alternative tactics employed by smaller non-territorial males. Of the 13 pups born at the study site that were assigned a father, eight were sired by three territorial males and five were sired by non-territorial males. Our study highlights that holding a territory is not a necessary condition for reproductive success in all otariids.

Organochlorine Residues in Maternal Blubber, Milk, and Pup Blubber from Grey Seals (Halichoerus grypus) from Sable Island, Nova Scotia

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 937-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Addison ◽  
P. F. Brodie
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Halichoerus Grypus ◽  
Mammary Tissue ◽  
Milk Lipid ◽  
Grey Seal ◽  
Tissue Concentrations

Residues of DDT group insecticides and of PCBs were measured in samples of maternal blubber, milk, and pup blubber from grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) from Sable Island, N.S. Mean ΣDDT and PCB levels in maternal blubber lipid were 14.0 and 14.5 μg/g, respectively. Concentrations of DDT and PCBs in milk lipid were approximately 60 and 30%, respectively, of those found in maternal blubber lipid, suggesting a partial barrier to passage of these residues through mammary tissue. Concentrations in pup blubber lipid were the same as, or slightly higher than, those in milk lipid.We estimated that a grey seal will lose about 30% of its total ΣDDT burden and about 15% of its PCB burden through lactation; this would be approximately balanced by its estimated annual intake of these residues from food. Thus, the observation that female seals show no increase in residue burdens with age (in contrast to males) is explained. Key words: organochlorine, DDT, DDE, PCB, seal, blubber, milk

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document