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Environmental Sciences

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Series

2011

Leptonychotes weddellii

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Individual Variation In Pup Vocalizations And Absence Of Behavioral Signs Of Maternal Vocal Recognition In Weddell Seals (Leptonychotes Weddellii), Ilse C. Van Opzeeland, Sofie M. Van Parijs, Stephan Frickenhaus, Cornelia M. Kreiss, Olaf Boebel Jan 2011

Individual Variation In Pup Vocalizations And Absence Of Behavioral Signs Of Maternal Vocal Recognition In Weddell Seals (Leptonychotes Weddellii), Ilse C. Van Opzeeland, Sofie M. Van Parijs, Stephan Frickenhaus, Cornelia M. Kreiss, Olaf Boebel

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Individually stereotyped vocalizations often play an important role in relocation of offspring in gregarious breeders. In phocids, mothers often alternate between foraging at sea and attending their pup. Pup calls are individually distinctive in various phocid species. However, experimental evidence for maternal recognition is rare. In this study, we recorded Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) pup vocalizations at two whelping patches in Atka Bay, Antarctica, and explored individual vocal variation based on eight vocal parameters. Overall, 58% of calls were correctly classified according to individual. For males (n = 12) and females (n = 9), respectively, nine …


Cooperative Hunting Behavior, Prey Selectivity And Prey Handling By Pack Ice Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca), Type B, In Antarctic Peninsula Waters, Robert L. Pitman, John W. Durban Jan 2011

Cooperative Hunting Behavior, Prey Selectivity And Prey Handling By Pack Ice Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca), Type B, In Antarctic Peninsula Waters, Robert L. Pitman, John W. Durban

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Currently, there are three recognized ecotypes (or species) of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Antarctic waters, including type B, a putative prey specialist on seals, which we refer to as “pack ice killer whale” (PI killer whale). During January 2009, we spent a total of 75.4 h observing three different groups of PI killer whales hunting off the western Antarctic Peninsula. Observed prey taken included 16 seals and 1 Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) were taken almost exclusively (14/15 identified seal kills), despite the fact that they represented only 15% …