Births of leopard seals Hydrurga leptonyx in southern Chile
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- 作者：Jorge Acevedo ; Alejandro González ; Sarah Garthe ; Inti González…
- 关键词：Hydrurga leptonyx ; Pup ; Birth ; Chile ; South America
- 刊名：Polar Biology
- 出版年：2017
- 出版时间：March 2017
- 年：2017
- 卷：40
- 期：3
- 页码：713-717
- 全文大小：
- 刊物类别：Biomedical and Life Sciences
- 刊物主题：Ecology; Oceanography; Microbiology; Plant Sciences; Zoology;
- 出版者：Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- ISSN：1432-2056
- 卷排序：40
文摘
Leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) are widely distributed within the Antarctic pack ice. Recently they have been reported further north, in the fjords of southern Chile, where individuals remain year-round, especially on Tierra del Fuego Island. Little is known of the leopard seals reproductive biology or breeding distribution, and more specifically, whether they use southern Chilean water to breed. Two recent opportunistic sightings of leopard seal adult–pup pairs were observed in Parry Fjord, Almirantazgo Sound, on 2 December 2012 and 6 October 2015. These are the first documented recordings of leopard seal pups in southern South America and the second and third records of leopard seal pups on the continents north of the Polar Front. Although the pups reported here were dead, these observations are important because they add new evidence that leopard seals pup asynchronously, unlike other ice-breeding seals. It provides further information regarding the leopard seals use of South American waters.