Parental investment in southern elephant seals, mirounga leonina. The bulls have a huge proboscis, and may weigh 750 lbs. Among them, southern elephant seals mirounga leonina are one of the most extreme divers, diving continuously at great. Phocidae, the southern elephant seal, dives for an average of approximately 25 min 24. I962 give a good account of this behavior in the southern elephant seal m. Modelling southern elephant seals mirounga leonina using an individualbased model.
The southern elephant seal mirounga leonina, hereafter ses, the largest phocid, is a major predator of the southern ocean feeding on myctophids and cephalopods. Dive data were obtained from southern elephant seals mirounga leonina from south georgia using satellite relay data loggers. For further explanation and for more examples, consult pecheniks guide pp. In 1999, atsea activity of two young southern elephant seal males mirounga leonina from elephant is. Pdf dispersal of southern elephant seals mirounga leonina.
In the summer of 199596, 25 southern elephant seals, mirounga leonina, were stomach lavaged at stranger point, king george island, south shetland islands. Genes free fulltext the genome assembly and annotation of. Jun 21, 2017 arnbom t, fedak ma, rothery p 1994 offspring sex ratio in relation to female size in southern elephant seals, mirounga leonina. Our aim was to describe the free ranging diving pattern and to determine the location of foraging of pregnant female southern elephant seals, mirounga leonina, from peninsula valdts, argentina.
Fulltext is provided in portable document format pdf. The most striking characteristic of both species is the pronounced sexual dimorphism, with males weighing 810 times more than females. We analysed the longest 95th percentile dive durations as proxies for physiological dive limits. Acoustic measurements of postdive cardiac responses in southern. That was in 1883 when no less than five individuals of the northern species mirounga angustirostris.
This study seeks to understand how the physiological constraints of diving may change on a daily and seasonal basis. Application of photogrammetry to female elephant seals was problematic, because. How elephant seals mirounga leonina adjust their fine. Elephant seal simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The southern elephant seal mirounga leonina in captivity the southern elephant seal mirounga leonina in captivity ulmer, frederick a. Mirounga leonina crosetensis lydekker, 1909 mirounga leonina falclandica peters, 1875 mirounga leonina macquariensis lydekker, 1909 common names. We used photogrammetry to study various aspects of southern elephant seal mirounga leonina male biology, including reproductive effort galimberti et al. Cephalopod remains were present in 72% of the individuals sampled n 18. Detection and characterization of a cryptosporidium isolate. The genome assembly and annotation of the southern elephant seal mirounga leonina article pdf available in genes 202011. Modelling southern elephant seals mirounga leonina using an. Here, we have assembled the reference genome for m.
Pdf southern elephant seal mirounga leonina populations appear. Pdf humans and the southern elephant seal mirounga leonina. First records of elephant seals on the guayaquil gulf, ecuador. This species is extremely sexually dimorphic and highly polygynous organized in harems. Adult female survival, population trend, and the implications. Southern elephant seal english southern sea elephant english taxonomic status. Genes free fulltext the genome assembly and annotation. Current optimization theories of sexual selection predict that evolution would favor greater parental investment in individual males than in females. The southern elephant seal mirounga leonina is one of the two species of elephant seals.
Contamination of blubber tissues by organochlorine pesticides oc and pcbs was assessed in female and male pups and juveniles, as well as in adult females and subdominant adult males of the southern elephant seal, mirounga leonina, from elephant island in the antarctic peninsula. The elephant seal is the largest amphibious animal. Understanding the diving behaviour of diving predators in relation to concomitant prey distribution could have major practical applications in conservation biology by allowing the assessment of how changes in fine scale prey distribution impact foraging efficiency and ultimately population dynamics. Nature picture library offers the best nature photographs and footage from the worlds finest photographers, to license for commercial and creative use. How elephant seals mirounga leonina adjust their fine scale.
All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Because of its large size it can carry biologgers with minimal disturbance. Mirounga leonina introduction trivers and willard 1973 suggested that in species for which the reproductive success of offspring is related to the size andor condition of those offspring and where this relationship differs between sexes, mothers should vary the sex of offspring in relation to their own. Dec 14, 2016 understanding the diving behaviour of diving predators in relation to concomitant prey distribution could have major practical applications in conservation biology by allowing the assessment of how changes in fine scale prey distribution impact foraging efficiency and ultimately population dynamics. Mirounga angustirostris society for marine mammalogy. Measuring physiological data in free ranging marine mammals remains challenging, owing to their farranging foraging habitat. Relationship between cortisone and muscle work in determining muscle size. Southern elephant seals breed on subantarctic islands and have a circumpolar distribution.
The presence of cryptosporidium and giardia in 221 fecal samples from different species of antarctic pinnipeds was investigated by immunofluorescence microscopy and pcr. Cephalopod diet of the southern elephant seal, mirounga. The southern elephant seal is among the most sexually dimorphic and polygynous of all mammals. Mammal research institute, department of zoology and entomology, 7 university of pretoria, private bag x20, hatfield, 0028, south africa.
Yet, it is important to understand how these divers recover from effort expended underwater, as marine mammals can perform deep and recurrent dives. It is the largest member of the clade pinnipedia and the order carnivora, as well as the largest extant marine mammal that is not a cetacean. Distribution circumpolar in polar to temperate waters of the southern hemisphere fig. Yet, it is important to understand how these divers recover from effort. Rapid noninvasive field estimation of body length of female. Using retrieved archival data from nine individuals that returned to. Analysis of the southern elephant seal mirounga leonina breeding population at kerguelen. Population growth introduction mit opencourseware free. Here we describe and analyze the ontogenetic trajectory of the tympanic bulla of the southern elephant seal, mirounga leonina phocidae, mammalia. Comparison of myoglobins from harbor seal, porpoise, and sperm whale. We test run the technique on 20 juvenile southern elephant seals mirounga leonina from the kerguelen islands during their first months at sea following weaning. To view articles you must have the free adobe acrobat reader. Growth patterns of individual muscles of the elephant seal. Offspring sex ratio in relation to female size in southern.
We compared the survival rate estimates from markrecapture data for female elephant seals from the marion island population using program mark for two periods pre and postdecline during the past 15 years and with estimates from. Pdf analysis of the southern elephant seal mirounga leonina. Molecular population genetics of the southern elephant seal. Southern elephant seals mirounga leonina allow us to explore this tradeoff as they.
Population structure of mtdna was strong and not consistent with isolation by distance. Diurnal and seasonal variations in the duration and depth of. Among them, southern elephant seals mirounga leonina are one of the most extreme divers, diving. Moreover, it has great diving abilities and a wide foraging habitat. The southern elephant seal mirounga leonina, hereafter ses, the largest phocid, is a major. Bartholo mew 1952 provides a particularly lucid description of the copulatory pattern in this species and laws i956a. A strong, significant relationship existed between. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Pdf the spring 1979 breeding population of southern elephant seals at kerguelen numbered 2993 bulls and 38 181 cows, with 36. Development of aggressive vocalizations in male southern. Collins 1, geoffrey foster 2, enevold falsen 3, peter schumann 4 view affiliations hide affiliations.
The elephant seal is a huge seal of the genus mirounga. Pmc free article hartzell cr, bradshaw ra, hapner kd, gurd fr. More than 500,000 images and video clips online, from tigers to turtles and elephants to sharks. Pechenik citation style quickguide the following are examples based on the 6th edition 2007 of a short guide to writing about biology by jan a.
The southern elephant seal mirounga leonina is the largest phocid seal and one of the two species of elephant seals. Identifying foraging events in deep diving southern elephant. The northern elephant seal mirounga angustirostris is one of two species of elephant seal the other is the southern elephant seal. The auditory region of pinnipeds has seldom been described. The northern elephant seal mirounga angustirostris and the southern elephant seal m. We assayed mitochondrial dna mtdna and nuclear dna ndna variation in the three main populations in the south atlantic, south indian, and south pacific oceans, and a smaller continental population in south america. Cryptosporidium, a skunklike genotype, was detected only in a southern elephant seal. Elephant seals derive their name from their great size and from the males large proboscis, which is used in making extraordinarily loud roaring noises. Acoustic measurements of postdive cardiac responses in. The southern elephant seal, is found in antarctic waters, while the northern elephant seal lives on islands of california and mexico. Mirounga leonina abstract southern elephant seals mirounga leonina range widely throughout the southern ocean and are associated with important habitats e. Detection and characterization of a cryptosporidium isolate from a southern elephant seal mirounga leonina from the antarctic peninsula c.