附註:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Elephant seals / Burney J. LeBoeuf and Richard M. Laws -- History and present status of the northern elephant seal population / Brent S. Stewart, Pamela K. Yochem, Harriet R. Huber, Robert L. DeLong, Ronald J. Jameson, William J. Sydeman, Sarah G. Allen, and Burney J. LeBoeuf -- History and present status of southern elephant seal populations / Richard M. Laws -- Possible causes of the decline of southern elephant seal populations in the southern Pacific and southern Indian Oceans / Mark A. Hindell, David J. Slip, and Harry R. Burton -- Population ecology of southern elephant seals at Marion Island / Marthan N. Bester and Ian S. Wilkinson -- Biomass and energy consumption of the south Georgia population of southern elephant seals / Ian L. Boyd, Tom A. Arnbom, and Michael A. Fedak.
Juvenile survivorship of northern elephant seals / Burney J. LeBoeuf, Patricia Morris, and Joanne Reiter -- Life history strategies of female northern elephant seals / William J. Sydeman and Nadav Nur -- Sexual selection and growth in male northern elephant seals / Walter L. Clinton -- Sex- and age-related variation in reproductive effort of northern elephant seals / Charles J. Deutsch, Daniel E. Crocker, Daniel P. Costa, and Burney J. LeBoeuf -- Diet of the northern elephant seal / George A. Antonelis, Mark S. Lowry, Clifford H. Fiscus, Brent S. Stewart, and Robert L. DeLong -- Theory of geolocation by light levels / Roger D. Hill -- Variation in the diving pattern of northern elephant seals with age, mass, sex, and reproductive condition / Burney J. LeBoeuf -- Diving behavior of southern elephant seals from Macquarie Island / David J. Slip, Mark A. Hindell, and Harry R. Burton -- Developmental aspects of diving in northern elephant seal pups / Philip H. Thorson and Burney J. LeBoeuf.
Postbreeding foraging migrations of northern elephant seals / Brent S. Stewart and Robert L. DeLong -- Functional analysis of dive types of female northern elephant seals / Tomohiro Asaga, Yasuhiko Naito, Burney J. LeBoeuf, and Haruo Sakurai -- Swim speed and dive function in a female northern elephant seal / Daniel E. Crocker, Burney J. LeBoeuf, Yasuhiko Naito, Tomohiro Asaga, and Daniel P. Costa -- Apnea tolerance in the elephant seal during sleeping and diving / Michael A. Castellini -- Expenditure, investment, and acquisition of energy in southern elephant seals / Michael A. Fedak, Tom A. Arnbom, B.J. McConnell, C. Chambers, Ian L. Boyd, J. Harwood, and T.S. McCann.
摘要:Elephant seals, weighing up to 2000 kilograms, are not only the largest seals but among the most impressive of all marine mammals. Brought to the brink of extinction by nineteenth-century hunters, the northern species has achieved a recovery that is unmatched by any other marine vertebrate. Elephant seals are capable of tolerating remarkable physiological extremes of nutrition, temperature, and pressure. They spend more time underwater than most whales and dive deeper and longer than any other marine mammal. Lactating females and the largest breeding males during the mating season can lose up to forty percent of their body weight through prolonged fasting. For these and other reasons, the elephant seal has been the subject of intensive study in the northern and the southern hemispheres. , Elephant Seals, the first book-length discussion of the species, gathers together the research findings of scientists working along the North American coast from California to Alaska and in the circumpolar waters of the Antarctic. It documents for the first time the worldwide status of elephant seals, noting both the remarkable resurgence of the northern species and the troubling decline of certain populations in the south, which some attribute to human factors such as fishing and global warming. Among the studies discussed by the authors are those involving cutting-edge research on the seals' diving patterns, biannual migration, and foraging locations, carried out with the use of microcomputer diving instruments attached to free-ranging seals. Others include research on the life-history tactics critical to a population's success - juvenile survivorship, female and male reproductive strategies, and prey consumed. , The book concludes with an analysis of the remarkable physiological mechanisms that make possible the elephant seals' long breath-holds during diving and sleep, that set limits on foraging, and that regulate their hormones and fuel metabolism while fasting. An important and timely volume, Elephant Seals offers not only a worldwide status report on these impressive mammals but also the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of their behavioral biology. For the information it contains, for the methodological innovations it reports, and for its relevance to the debate about the human causes of species extinction, this book is essential reading for all marine mammalogists, behavioral ecologists, and managers of marine mammals.
