Female strategies of harassment reduction in southern elephant seals

摘要: Female southern elephant seals are expected to adopt behaviours that reduce the costs of male harassment. We studied strategies and tactics harassment reduction in two populations, at Punta Delgada (Valdes Peninsula, Argentina) Sea Lion Island (Falkland Islands) during five breeding seasons all. Females synchronized their activities risk, rarely bred alone likelihood encounters with subadult males. showed a clear preference for larger harems, guaranteed reduced risk: movements between arrival on land parturition were mostly from smaller abandonment was lower large harems. protested against approaching males vast majority interactions, regardless social context status interacting male, but protest varied female phenotype. Frequency individual females decreased linearly beginn...