Extended bouts of fasting are ingrained in the ecology of many organisms, characterizing
aspects of reproduction, development, hibernation, estivation, migration, and infrequent …

There are several groups of animals that are adapted for extremely long duration fasting as
part of their reproductive cycle. Penguins, bears and seals routinely fast without food or …

Biologists have developed a wide range of morphological, biochemical and physiological
metrics to assess the health and, in particular, the energetic status of individual animals …

Sexual segregation in foraging is predicted from the great size disparity of male and female
northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris. Our aim was to test this prediction by …

Along with reproduction, balancing energy expenditure with the limits of resource acquisition
is essential for both a species and a population to survive. But energy is a limited resource …

Integrating behavior and physiology is critical to formulating new hypotheses on the
evolution of animal life-history strategies. Migratory capital breeders acquire most of the …

Marine mammals experience radical seasonal changes in body composition, which would
be expected to affect their buoyancy in the water. The aim of this study was to examine the …

Northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris, undergo an annual moult during which
they shed all of their pelage and underlying epidermis. Moulting takes place on land and …

Phocid seals go through dramatic seasonal changes in body mass and composition as a
result of the spatial and temporal separation of foraging, reproduction and moulting. These …

Mass loss and energy requirements of harp (Phoca groenlandica) and gray seal
(Halichoerus grypus) pups were examined in individuals that spent the postweaning fast …