PRECISE BIRTH TIMING IN CAPTIVE HARBOR SEALS (PHOCA VITULINA) AND CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS (ZALOPHUS CALIFORNIANUS)

Abstract

AbstractThe absolute and relative precision of birth timing was assessed in 27 captive harbor seals and 30 captive California sea lions. Data were obtained from zoos and aquaria and only adult females with at least three live births were selected for analysis. Individuals of both species demonstrated very high absolute precision with narrow ranges of birth dates and small standard deviations of the individual mean birth dates. In addition, with the exception of one sea lion, no temporal trends for earlier or later birthing were found. Whereas marked differences in birth timing were found among individual harbor seals, these relative differences tended to disappear when subspecies affiliation and location were taken into account. Moderate inter‐individual differences were also found among the California sea lions, but these differences persisted following the partitioning of adult females by location.The absolute precision in birth timing strongly suggests that environmental regulation of birth timing occurs via a highly precise cue, such as photoperiod. The relative differences among individuals may indicate that birth timing in pinnipeds has a heritable component, and hence may evolve in response to natural selection, thus allowing adaptation of the pupping season to specific seasonal environments.