Social structure and underwater behavior of harbor seals in southern Monterey Bay, California

To understand harbor seal social and mating strategies, I examined site fidelity, seasonal abundance and distribution, herd integrity, and underwater behavior of individual harbor seals in southern Monterey Bay. Individual harbor seals (n = 444) were identified by natural markings and represented greater than 80% of an estimated 520 seals within this community. Year to year fidelity of individual harbor seals to southern Monterey Bay coastline was 84% (n = 388), and long-term associations (>2 yrs) among individuals were common (>40%). Consistent with these long-term associations, harbor seals were highly social underwater throughout the year. Underwater social behavior included three primary types: (1) visual and acoustic displays, such as vocalizing, surface splashing, and bubble-blowing; (2) playful or agonistic social behavior such as rolling, mounting, attending, and biting; and (3) signal gestures such as head-thrusting, fore-flipper scratch~ng, and growling. Frequency of these types of behavior was related to seal age, gender, season, and resource availability. Underwater behavior had a variety of functions, including promotion of learning and social development, reduction of aggression and preservation of social bonds by maintaining social hierarchy, and facilitation of mate selection during breeding season. Social behavior among adult males was significantly correlated with vocalization characteristics (r = 0.99, X2 = 37.7, p = 0.00087), indicating that seals may assess their competition based on underwater vocalization displays and adopt individual strategies for attracting females during breeding season based on social status. Individual mating strategies may include defending underwater territories, using scramble tactics, and developing social alliances. (PDF contains 105 pages)

News from Academy Bay

New Faces and New Projects in a New CDRS Department. International Workshop: Feral Goat Eradication Program. Geologists to Invade Galápagos. GIS in Galápagos. The Isabela Project: Off and Running. A Pig-Free Santiago: Is it a Dream or on the Horizon? The Special Law for Galápagos.

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 2011

Issues January - November/December 2011. (PDF contains 88 pages)

Analysis of channel quality reporting mechanisms and their impact into 4G and beyond technologies

206 p.

Investigation into channel angular extrusion and the UREAD energy absorption technique

.

Fisheries in a changing scene [includes section on proposed Morecambe Bay barrage scheme]: paper presented at Association of River Authorities, Annual Conference, Morecambe, 1967

The report looks at trends developing in the area of the Lancashire River Authority which will, by the turn of the century, bring tremendous pressures to bear on its natural resources, particularly land and water. It looks at difficulties maintaining an environment suitable for all, human or otherwise, including construction of energy plants and increasing population. It explores the scheme of harnessing water on Morecambe Bay, including fishery advantages and disadvantages. The report looks at fish deaths and diseases in Morecambe Bay and the Lancashire area, providing statistics.

News from Academy Bay

A spate of Galapagos books. The phenomenal El Nino. The Galapagos on television. Galapagos tourism. The CDRS Director in the Soviet Union. Saving the Hawaiian Petrel. Wild dogs and land iguanas. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Galapagos Islands. More about those bloodthirsty "vampire finches". Auf Wiedersehen, Friedemann! Harold Jefferson Coolidge at eighty. Events and visits at the Darwin Research Station.