Behaviour and energetics of ice-breeding, North Atlantic phocid seals during the lactation period

Lydersen, Christian; Kovacs, Kit M.

doi:10.3354/meps187265

Cited by 139 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 71 publications

(143 reference statements)

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“…The small under-ice home ranges maintained during the subnivean period allow lactating females to frequently attend the pups in subnivean lairs. Frequent visits to the lairs likely increase the efficiency of energy transfer to the pup (Boyd 1998;Lydersen et al 1992;Lydersen and Kovacs 1999) and minimize predation on pups by allowing their mothers to move them when predators attempt to excavate birth lairs (Taugbøl 1984;. The small size of the under-ice ranges, however, limits access to prey, and ringed seals may compensate by using ranges that correspond to areas of high prey density.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal home ranges and fidelity to breeding sites among ringed seals

et al. 2010

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Population structure and patterns of habitat use among ringed seals (Phoca hispida) are poorly known, in part because seasonal movements have not been adequately documented. We monitored the movements of 98 ringed seals in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas between 1990 and 2006 using three forms of telemetry. In the winter-spring period (when the seals were occupying shorefast ice), we used radio and ultra-sonic tags to track movements above and below the ice, respectively. We used satellite-linked transmitters in summer and fall (when the seals ranged away from their winter sites) to track at-sea movements. In the shorefast ice habitat, the home ranges of 27 adult males ranged from \1 to 13.9 km 2 (median = 0.628) while the home ranges of 28 adult females ranged from \1 to 27.9 km 2 (median = 0.652). The 3-dimensional volumes used by 9 seals tracked acoustically under the ice averaged 0.07 (SD = 0.04) km 3 for subadults and adult males and 0.13 (SD = 0.04) km 3 for adult females. Three of the radio-tracked seals and 9 tracked by satellite ranged up to 1,800 km from their winter/spring home ranges in summer but returned to the same small (1-2 km 2 ) sites during the ice-bound months in the following year. The restricted movements of ringed seals during the ice-bound seasonincluding the breeding season-limits their foraging activities for most of the year and may minimize gene flow within the species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We refer to that period as the foraging period with the recognition that ringed seals-in contrast to most species of phocid seals (Costa 1991;Schulz and Bowen 2005)-also forage during lactation while occupying subnivean lairs (Kelly and Wartzok 1996;Lydersen and Kovacs 1999).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal home ranges and fidelity to breeding sites among ringed seals

et al. 2010

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“…Pups of these species swim and dive long before weaning, which is not as abrupt since the pups start to ingest food other than milk while still nursing (Lydersen & Hammill 1993, Lydersen et al 1994, Bowen et al 1999, Jør-gensen et al 2001, Pastor & Aguilar 2003. In addition, unlike most phocids, the mothers of these seals feed during the lactation period (Boness et al 1994, Lydersen & Kovacs 1999, Gazo & Aguilar 2005, Pastor & Aguilar 2003.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diving behaviour of Mediterranean monk seal pups during lactation and post weaning

Gazo¹,

Lydersen²,

Aguilar³

2006

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Time depth recorders (TDRs) were attached to 3 Mediterranean monk seal pups during a range of periods around weaning, providing a composite picture of activity from the first weeks of life until nutritional independence. The pups entered the water during their first week of life and their diving performance increase progressively with age. All pups spent most of their time at sea (55 to 74%), and their swimming activity was greater at nighttime compared with daytime. Dive performance in relation to pup age was poorer compared with other phocid seal species. Dive types were classified using a combination of hierarchical and k-mean clustering. We found 3 dive types: 1 Vshaped and 2 U-shaped. The most common type was U 1 -dives, mainly used by older pups during 44 to 48% of their total dive time. These dives were relatively deep and long (mean depth = 11.6 ± 9.5 m, mean duration = 149.1 ± 80.6 s). They had long bottom times (100 ± 67 s), suggesting that pups were foraging. Pups appeared to start feeding at the end of lactation. KEY WORDS: Mediterranean monk seal · Diving behaviour · Lactation · Weaning · Monachus monachus Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 308: [303][304][305][306][307][308][309] 2006 son & Le Boeuf 1994, Burns & Castellini 1996, Bowen et al. 1999, Burns 1999, Hindell et al. 1999.The diving behaviour of Mediterranean monk seal pups has received little attention to date. Here we used time-depth recorders (TDRs) to study the diving behaviour of these pups from nursing to nutritional independence. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study was carried out in the Cabo Blanco peninsula, Western Sahara (21°02' N, 17°03' W) between July and November 1995. This area is inhabited by the only large aggregation of Mediterranean monk seals that exists today, with a total population estimated at 109 individuals (CV = 0.14; 95% CI: 86 to 145) (Forcada et al. 1999). Many individuals, including most lactating females and their pups, haul out onto the beaches and inside 2 caves, where they can be monitored easily (Gazo et al. 1999).Seals were captured using a net mounted on a metal frame (2.0 × 1.3 m) . The frame was submerged horizontally in a natural channel (1 m deep) located near the entrance of the main breeding cave. When a pup swam on the surface just over the frame, a system of pulleys and weights was activated by the researchers to move the frame to the surface, thus entangling the pup in the net. No drug or anaesthetic was used to restrain the individuals. We attached Mk-5 TDRs (Wildlife Computers) to 4 moulted pups. These recorders were fixed with plastic zip ties to a plastic base that was glued to the seal's fur. At the end of the sampling period, we recovered the TDRs by entering the caves, approaching the sleeping individuals, and cutting the plastic zip. This operation did not require a second handling of the individuals tracked. The plastic base-plate then remained glued to the back of the seal until the next moult. We recovered 3 TDRs;...

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“…In most species, females may have to forage to sustain late lactation, leaving their pup alone on the ice (e.g. Testa et al 1989, Lydersen & Kovacs 1999. The relocation process is often complicated by hourly or daily movements of the ice, causing pups to drift away from where they were when their mothers left.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In ice-breeding seals, females form dispersed aggregations on the ice during the breeding season (Lydersen & Kovacs 1999, Van Parijs et al 2001. In most species, females may have to forage to sustain late lactation, leaving their pup alone on the ice (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic variation in vocalizations of pups and mother-pup behavior of harp seals Pagophilus groenlandicus

Opzeeland¹,

Corkeron²,

Risch³

et al. 2009

Aquat. Biol.

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All harp seal populations form breeding aggregations on the Arctic pack ice. However, pack ice conditions vary spatially and temporally among these aggregations with variation in environmental and oceanographic conditions, which may affect the behavioral interactions between mothers and their newborn pups. We investigated the variation in mother-pup behavior between harp seal breeding aggregations in the NE (Greenland Sea) and NW Atlantic coastal shelf region (Front). Acoustic cues provided by the pups are thought to be important in facilitating reunions with their mothers. Consequently, we measured variation in vocal parameters among seals to investigate geographic differences in pup vocalizations. Classification trees showed a distinctive split between Front and Greenland Sea pup vocalizations. There were no clear differences between male and female pups at the Front, where 42% of male and 38% of female pup calls could be attributed to a given individual. This contrasts with the Greenland Sea, where 55% of vocalizations of female pups were attributed to individuals compared with only 8% for males. Analyses of behavioral observations of mother-pup pairs made in the afternoon and evening showed that pups in the Greenland Sea suckled more and were more alert than pups in the Front. Further, mother-pup attendance patterns differed between sites. Mothers at the Front attended their pups 85.1% of the time, whereas mothers in the Greenland Sea attended their pups 52.2% of the time. These substantial differences between sites might be related to evolutionary changes in behavior resulting from commercial hunting or variable environmental conditions.

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Behaviour and energetics of ice-breeding, North Atlantic phocid seals during the lactation period

Cited by 139 publications

References 71 publications

Seasonal home ranges and fidelity to breeding sites among ringed seals

Seasonal home ranges and fidelity to breeding sites among ringed seals

Diving behaviour of Mediterranean monk seal pups during lactation and post weaning

Geographic variation in vocalizations of pups and mother-pup behavior of harp seals Pagophilus groenlandicus

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