Comparison between adult and juveniles male southern elephant seals behavior at Isla 25 de Mayo/King George Island, Antarctica.

22. NEGRETE J, PHOF R, CARLINI AR, FERRARI HR, BAVIERA M, SANTOS MM, MÁRQUEZ MEI

Buenos Aires Argentina

Conferencia; XXXI SCAR Open Science Conference; 2010

Behavioral interactions amongst juvenile male southern elephant seals were compared to agonistic behaviors amongst adult males of the same species. The comparison was based on the frequencies of the most commonly observed behavioral elements during each interaction involving physical contact. These frequencies were obtained from 52 interaction bouts amongst juveniles and 53 agonistic interaction bouts amongst adults. From a total of 15 behavioral elements compared, two were exhibited only during agonistic encounters between adults; these were defined as bite and swing (BS) and chin tap (CT). The other 13 elements were recorded also for juveniles, although eight differed significantly in their frequencies between adult and juvenile interactions. For example, agonistic interactions amongst adults had higher frequencies of the elements bite (B) and recoil (R), whereas juvenile interactions had higher frequencies of chest slam (CS) and open mouth slam (OMS). Juvenile interactions were generally consistent with a function of play, characterized by the absence or rarity of BS and B both of which inflict serious harm on adults, and of the submissive elements CT and R. A new element, described as nosing, was observed only amongst juveniles and always at the beginning of interactions. We interpret this behavior as an invitation to play.