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Multiple occurrences of king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) sexual harassment by Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella)

Multiple occurrences of king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) sexual harassment by Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella)
Multiple occurrences of king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) sexual harassment by Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella)

Sexual coercion is the use of force to achieve mating, while reproductive interference encompasses many forms of interspecific interactions during mating. We describe three new occurrences of the sexual coercion of king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) by Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) on sub-Antarctic Marion Island. These recurrent observations follow a common pattern where the seal chases, captures and mounts the penguin, followed by copulation attempts. These observations are similar to a previously published observation from the same island, and we suggest that this may be an emergent behaviour. Two hypotheses directed at possible drivers for these coercive actions are examined: it may be learned behaviour associated with some sort of reward or it may be an extreme case of reproductive interference that can be explained by the ‘mate deprivation hypothesis’, resulting from the continued growth of the A. gazella population on the island. Reporting of similar occurrences from a range of species may allow more robust inference towards the ultimate drivers of the behaviour.

Animal behaviour, Aptenodytes patagonicus, Arctocephalus gazella, Marion Island, Reproductive interference, Sexual coercion
0722-4060
741-746
Haddad, William A.
13c5bf68-d0b8-4917-91e2-8733efcd818b
Reisinger, Ryan R.
4eaf9440-48e5-41fa-853f-d46457e5444e
Scott, Tristan
701042dc-0e28-4516-9c51-766003235b7f
Bester, Marthán N.
41dd4579-d0bb-430f-9044-9d98a55d548c
de Bruyn, P. J.Nico
3257867f-eda3-4ddf-baa3-aaf692de19bb
Haddad, William A.
13c5bf68-d0b8-4917-91e2-8733efcd818b
Reisinger, Ryan R.
4eaf9440-48e5-41fa-853f-d46457e5444e
Scott, Tristan
701042dc-0e28-4516-9c51-766003235b7f
Bester, Marthán N.
41dd4579-d0bb-430f-9044-9d98a55d548c
de Bruyn, P. J.Nico
3257867f-eda3-4ddf-baa3-aaf692de19bb

Haddad, William A., Reisinger, Ryan R., Scott, Tristan, Bester, Marthán N. and de Bruyn, P. J.Nico (2015) Multiple occurrences of king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) sexual harassment by Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella). Polar Biology, 38 (5), 741-746. (doi:10.1007/s00300-014-1618-3).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Sexual coercion is the use of force to achieve mating, while reproductive interference encompasses many forms of interspecific interactions during mating. We describe three new occurrences of the sexual coercion of king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) by Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) on sub-Antarctic Marion Island. These recurrent observations follow a common pattern where the seal chases, captures and mounts the penguin, followed by copulation attempts. These observations are similar to a previously published observation from the same island, and we suggest that this may be an emergent behaviour. Two hypotheses directed at possible drivers for these coercive actions are examined: it may be learned behaviour associated with some sort of reward or it may be an extreme case of reproductive interference that can be explained by the ‘mate deprivation hypothesis’, resulting from the continued growth of the A. gazella population on the island. Reporting of similar occurrences from a range of species may allow more robust inference towards the ultimate drivers of the behaviour.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 31 October 2014
e-pub ahead of print date: 11 November 2014
Published date: 1 May 2015
Additional Information: Funding Information: We thank Mr. F. W. Fourie for the use of his photograph, Ms. D. Cory Toussaint for help with preparing the manuscript and two anonymous referees for useful comments on the manuscript. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism supplied logistic support within the South African National Antarctic Programme. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), through the National Research Foundation (NRF) (South Africa), provided financial support. Any opinion, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors, and therefore, the NRF and DST do not accept any liability in regard thereto. Publisher Copyright: © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Copyright: Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords: Animal behaviour, Aptenodytes patagonicus, Arctocephalus gazella, Marion Island, Reproductive interference, Sexual coercion

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 455023
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/455023
ISSN: 0722-4060
PURE UUID: 28772ad3-f755-4d23-93dd-2c65fb6ccce1
ORCID for Ryan R. Reisinger: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8933-6875

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Date deposited: 03 Mar 2022 17:54
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:03

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Contributors

Author: William A. Haddad
Author: Tristan Scott
Author: Marthán N. Bester
Author: P. J.Nico de Bruyn

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