Behavior And Ecology Of The Northern Fur Seal

Covering the behavior and ecology of the northern fur seal, this book is a model long-term study of marine mammals, one that tests theory through both observation of undisturbed behavior and manipulative experiments on individuals. Here Roger Gentry draws on nearly two decades of research on three different islands to show how behavior among these seals changes with population size, sex ratio, and environment, to explain the behavior of the population beginning with individuals, and to generalize the results to other members of the eared seal family. In so doing, he offers one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind on any marine mammal species to date. Gentry shows that the species is driven by very different behavioral traits than have been assumed for it in the past. His book analyzes behavior on scales of hours to lifetimes, investigates the mating system, considers processes that underlie the mating system (site fidelity, behavioral estrus, and the development of territoriality), and addresses specific aspects of maternal strategy (female attendance behavior, pup growth, seasonal influences, and the effects of continental shelf width). Gentry contributes to knowledge about marine mammals by providing a very specific basis for interspecies comparisons, and he suggests a link between population trend and environmental regime shifts. He also guides the debate over seal mating systems from an interpretive to an empirical or experimental basis. Originally published in 1997. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This book is focused on the marine mammalian groups the Otariidae and the Odobenidae, otherwise known as fur seals, sea lions and the walrus. In 30 chapters, more than 60 authors from 30 institutions and 13 nationalities, discuss a broad suite of topics from maternal care and mating behavior, through play, cognition and personality, to adaptation to life in the Anthropocene. The authors explore the behaviors that have allowed these semi-aquatic mammals to thrive in the marine realm. Many populations have recovered following historical decimation, with interesting evolutionary consequences which are explored. Detailed, selected, individual species descriptions are also provided, showcasing the behavioral diversity of this engaging, adaptive and highly successful group of marine mammals.

14 species summaries, 12 contributed papers and 5 rapporteurs' reports on fur seals throughout the world including the Pribilof Islands and Antarctica.

The largest of all seals, elephant seals rank among the most impressive of marine mammals. They are renowned for their spectacular recovery from near-extinction at the end of the nineteenth century when seal hunters nearly eliminated the entire northern species. No other vertebrate has come so close to extinction and made such a complete recovery. The physiological extremes that elephant seals can tolerate are also remarkable: females fast for a month while lactating, and the largest breeding males fast for over one hundred days during the breeding seasons, at which times both sexes lose forty percent of their body weight. Elephant seals dive constantly during their long foraging migrations, spending more time under water than most whales and diving deeper and longer than any other marine mammal. This first book-length discussion of elephant seals brings together worldwide expertise from scientists who describe and debate recent research, including the history and status of various populations, their life-history tactics, and other findings obtained with the help of modern microcomputer diving instruments attached to free-ranging seals. Essential for all marine mammalogists for its information and its methodological innovations, Elephant Seals will also illuminate current debates about species extinctions and possible means of preventing them. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1994.

El Niño is a meteorological and oceanographic phenomenon, which occurs at irregular intervals in the eastern tropical Pacific. Its most obvious characteristic is the warming of surface waters, which causes enormous disturbances of the marine environment. A severe Niño may also affect continental systems worldwide. This book gathers in a comprehensive way the information available on the effects of the exceptionally strong 1982-83 Niño on a group of marine mammals, the pinnipeds. It presents an analysis of the effects of environmental stress on the populations of top predators. Data and interpretations are based on a most unusual collection of long-term studies of pinniped population dynamics, behavior and ecology which spanned the El Niño event. The responses of pinniped populations to the El Niño disturbance of the marine ecosystem also has important implications for the management and conservation of marine mammal populations.

“The bones recovered from the middens of the northeastern Pacific shorelines have important stories to tell biologists, marine mammalogists, and those concerned with marine conservation. This volume unearths a wealth of information about the historical ecology of seals, sea lions, and sea otters in the North Pacific that spans thousands of years. It provides fascinating insights into how the world once looked, and how it may one day look again as seals, sea lions, and sea otters reclaim and recolonize their former haunts.”—Andrew Trites, Director, Marine Mammal Research Unit, University of British Columbia “Braje and Rick have assembled a compelling set of case studies on the long-term and complex interactions between people, marine mammals, and environments in the Northeast Pacific. The promise of zooarchaeology as historical science is on full display, as researchers use geochemistry, aDNA, morphometrics, and traditional analytic methods to address questions of utmost importance to the long-term health of coastal ecosystems. If this book doesn't convince conservation biology about the need to take the long view of animal histories and ecosystems into account in developing conservation management plans, I'm not sure what will.”—Virginia L. Butler, Department of Anthropology, Portland State University