@ARTICLE{Carlini_Alejandro_R._Dynamics_2002, author={Carlini, Alejandro R. and Poljak, Sebastián and Daneri, Gustavo A. and Márquez, Maria E.I. and Plötz, Joachim}, volume={vol. 23}, number={No 2}, journal={Polish Polar Research}, pages={153-159}, howpublished={online}, year={2002}, publisher={Polish Academy of Sciences}, publisher={Committee on Polar Research}, abstract={Southern elephant male seals (Mirounga leonina Linnaeus, 1758) were studied at King George Island (62°14´S, 58°40´W) from September to December 1999. The first males came ashore at the beginning of September. Twenty-five adults were immobilized, hot iron branded, and measured. Thirteen out of the 25 marked males spent an average of 66 (+/-8) days on land. Early arrival was positively correlated with the time spent ashore (r = 0.88, P < 0.05). Nine harems were formed in the study area. At the maximum haul-out of females (28 October) mean harem size was 32ą42 females (range 3–107). During the course of harem development, 10 changes in male harem dominance were observed. These changes were more frequent during the early (1–20 October, n = 6) than during the mid (21 October – 10 November, n = 2) and late (11–29 November, n = 2) periods of harem development. Overall, there were 14 dominant males; five of these in two different harems and nine in one harem. Of the 25 marked males, 44% were resighted in the following breeding or moulting season, and 16% seemed to improve their potential breeding success.}, type={Article}, title={Dynamics of male dominance of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) during the breeding season at King George Island}, URL={http://ochroma.man.poznan.pl/Content/110701/PDF-MASTER/ppr23-153.pdf}, keywords={male competition, southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina, pinnipeds}, }