Seasonal Haul-Out Patterns of the Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina L.), at Macquarie Island

Abstract

Numbers of male, female, and juvenile southern elephant seals ( Mirounga leonina ) hauled out on the isthmus of Macquarie Island were monitored for 14 months. Most haul-out patterns could be described by a normal distribution function. The value of using these normal distribution equations as predictive models was assessed. Equations describing the number of breeding females and the number of pups produced were found to be the most precise. Haulouts from other years at Macquarie Island, and from other populations were compared by means of parameters calculated by the function. It was concluded that there has been little change in the order or duration of haul-outs at Macquarie Island since the 1950s, and that there is remarkable synchrony in the timing of the haul-out of breeding females in all major southern elephant seal populations.