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Long distance breeding dispersal of a southern elephant seal

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Abstract

Southern elephant seals range extensively during regular foraging excursions. Despite this they are highly philopatric and long range dispersal is rare. At Gough Island, southern Atlantic Ocean, we observed a breeding adult male elephant seal during September 2009, which had been tagged on its natal beach at Marion Island, southern Indian Ocean, in November 1998. The individual was resighted only once on Marion Island, 6 months after tagging. This 3,860 km movement represents dispersal (and likely gene flow) between distinct populations from different elephant seal geographical provinces. Given the polygynous breeding system of this species, the presence of this single male may have a disproportionate genetic effect on the small number of southern elephant seals breeding at Gough Island.

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Acknowledgments

Logistical support at Gough Island was provided by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs through the South African National Antarctic Programme. Research at Gough Island is conducted with the permission of the Administrator and Island Council of Tristan da Cunha. Trevor Glass, Head of Tristan Conservation Department, and his assistant, Norman Glass, are thanked for their encouragement. John van den Hoff, Alejandro Carlini, Chris Oosthuizen, Trevor McIntyre and Nico de Bruyn made useful comments on this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    Ryan R. Reisinger & Marthán N. Bester

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  1. Ryan R. Reisinger
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  2. Marthán N. Bester
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Correspondence to Ryan R. Reisinger.

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Reisinger, R.R., Bester, M.N. Long distance breeding dispersal of a southern elephant seal. Polar Biol 33, 1289–1291 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0830-z

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