The extra burden of motherhood: reduced dive duration associated with pregnancy status in a deep-diving mammal, the northern elephant seal
Abstract
The cost of pregnancy is hard to study in marine mammals, particularly in species that undergo pregnancy while diving continuously at sea such as elephant seals (genus Mirounga ). We analysed the diving behaviour of confirmed pregnant and non-pregnant northern elephant seals ( M. angustirostris , n = 172) and showed that after an initial continuous increase in dive duration, dives of pregnant females become shorter after week 17. The reasons for this reduction in dive duration remain unknown, but we hypothesize that increased fetal demand for oxygen could be the cause. Our findings reveal an opportunity to explore the use of biologging data to investigate pregnancy status of free-ranging marine mammals and factors that could affect pregnancy success.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2018
- Source ID
- 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0722
Entities
People
- Daniel P. Costa
- Luis Huckstadt
- Michael S Tift
- Rachel R Holser
Organizations
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- University of California, San Diego
- University of California, Santa Cruz