MATING STRATEGIES IN MALE HOODED SEALS (CYSTOPHORA-CRISTATA)

Male attendance of females with pups was monitored in individually marked hooded seals, Cystophora cristata, during the breeding seasons of 1988 and 1989. Two patterns of attendance were observed. Some males remained relatively sedentary and defended a single female as long as she remained on the ice. Other males were more mobile, attending several females for shorter periods of time. Because lactation in individual hooded seals lasts for only about 4 days and is followed immediately by mating, even sedentary males have the potential to mate with more than one female. Indeed, some of the marked sedentary males were observed with more than one female during the breeding season. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that male hooded seals are serially monogamous, i.e., polygynous, during a single breeding season.