(2000) 'Finescale topographical correlates of behavioural investment in o spring by female grey seals, Halichoerus grypus.', Animal behaviour., 59 (2). pp. 327-338. Further information on publisher's website:http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1999.1320 Publisher's copyright statement: This is the author's version of a work that was accepted for publication in Animal Behaviour. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be re ected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A de nitive version was subsequently published in Animal Behaviour, 2000Behaviour, , 59, 2, 327 338, doi: 10.1006Behaviour, /anbe.1999Behaviour, .1320 Additional information: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACTGrey seals breed colonially on substrates ranging from ice to rocky or sandy beaches. Clear differences in seal behaviour patterns exist among such broad classes of breeding habitat.However, finer scale topographic variation is likely to influence individual behaviour with consequences for pupping success. We examine topographic influences on breeding female grey seal behaviour by quantifying topography at a sub-seal size resolution. Using sub-metre resolution Digital Terrain Models of two sites within a rocky breeding colony we compare site topography in relation to observed differences in female behaviour at these sites. Females at both sites showed a preference for breeding close to water (standing pools or sea) and frequently commuted between their pups and water. Topographic models indicated that one site was more costly for seals in terms of their locations and movements within the site. This was due to a lack of low elevation land adjacent to the main access points from the sea and the reduced availability of pools. Females at this site showed reduced pup attendance and an increase in energetically costly behaviours, whilst females at the lower cost site spent more time interacting with their pups and resting. These topographically induced behavioural differences are likely to affect the quantity and quality of pup provisioning by mothers and influence individual pupping site selection. Less costly sites are likely to be colonised preferentially and by larger, older and more dominant females, potentially generating fine scale spatial heterogeneity in female quality within the breeding colony.Whilst it may be obvious that topography is likely to...

Life history trade-offs have often been assumed to be the consequence of restrictions in the availability of critical resources such as energy and nutrients, which necessitate the differential allocation of resources to costly traits. Here, we examined endocrine (testosterone) and health (parasite burdens) parameters in territorial and non-territorial New Zealand fur seal males. We documented intra-sexual differences in sexual behaviours, testosterone levels, and parasitism that suggest a trade-off exists between reproductive success and physical health, particularly susceptibility to helminths and acanthocephalans, in males displaying different mating tactics (i.e., territorial and non-territorial tactics). Levels of testosterone were higher in territorial males and correlated positively with reproductive effort (i.e., intra- and inter-sexual interactions). However, these territorial males also exhibited high levels of parasitic infection, which may impair survival in the long-term. Our study, while limited in sample size, provides preliminary evidence for a link between male mating tactics, testosterone levels and parasite loads, and potential effects on reproductive success and life history that should be explored further.

Throughout lactation, pups of pinnipeds regularly vocalize, including during interactions with their mother. In all studied species of otariids and in some phocids, these calls exhibit sufficient acoustic variation for individual recognition. As female grey seals Halichoerus grypus (Pinnipedia: Phocidae) often pup in dense colonies, and regularly leave their offspring alone to go to sea, the selective pressure for mutual vocal recognition between mothers and pups could be high. To investigate call variation in pups of this species, 170 calls of ten individual pups were analysed. Out of seven acoustic features studied, location of maximum signal strength, the number of harmonics and the frequency and strength of the fundamental show the highest individuality. However, the apparent infrequent use of pup calls during mother-pup reunions suggests that vocal signals may not play the major role in pup discrimination by female grey seals, as observed in other phocids which females do not vocalize to their pup.

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.