C Mi@: Iwez On Oct 18, 2010, at 1:10 AM, Layla Osman <laylaosman@gmail.com> wrote:
I wish to note the availability of one recent publication concerning Growth rates and maternal investment in Fur seals. Abstract appear below and the paper is available at:
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1644/09-MAMM-A-197.1
Growth rates and differential investment in male and female Juan Fernandez fur seal pups
LAYLA P. OSMAN,* CARLOS A. MORENO, AND ANDREW W. TRITES
Instituto de Ecologı´a y Evolucio´n, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile (LPO, CAM) Marine Mammal Research Unit, Fisheries Centre, Room 247, 2202 Main Mall, AERL, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada (AWT) * Correspondent: laylaosman@gmail.com
Male Juan Ferna´ndez fur seals (Arctocephalus philippii) are significantly larger than females at birth and show extreme dimorphism as adults. We investigated morphological differences among male and female pups using a cross-sectional sampling design to evaluate whether pup growth rates were sex-specific during the breeding season. We characterized growth rates using mass, length, and girth and found that length was the least variable measure of body growth (based on the coefficients of variation for the 3 measures of body size). Male pups were heavier on average than female pups on any given day of sampling but did not grow faster than females. No significant differences were noted in the body conditions of male and female pups. These findings suggest that the sexual differences among pups of A. philippii originate before birth and are not accentuated while suckling during the breeding season. DOI: 10.1644/09-MAMM-A-197.1.
Key words: Arctocephalus philippii, Juan Ferna´ndez Archipelago, Juan Ferna´ndez fur seals, maternal investment, pup growth rates, sexual dimorphism, sexual variatio
Layla Osman
-- Dr. Layla P. Osman Instituto de Ecología y Evolución Universidad Austral de Chile P.O. Box 567, Valdivia, Chile. Phone: 56-63-221486 Fax: 56-63-221344 Cell phone: 76681230 www.ecolevol.cl
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