Mating strategies and reproductive success of male Galápagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki (Otariidae))

Being one of only two equatorial otariid species, the Galápagos sea lion with its prolonged breeding season, shows a distinct behavior, where alternative mating strategies seem to be more successful than in other species.

The aquatic mating separates territorial behaviour, dominance over other males and display to females from the actual copulation. Hence the chance for actual female choice is drastically raised in comparison to other pinniped systems.

In the actual project I use molecular data of the male sea lions of the breeding colony on Caamaño (Galápagos) to analyze paternities. By comparing them with behavioral data, I try to estimate the breeding success of different reproductive strategies.

Pörschmann U, Trillmich F, Mueller B, Wolf JBW (2010): Male reproductive success and its behavioural correlates in a polygynous mammal, the Galápagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki). Molecular Ecology 19: 2574-2586.

Jeglinski JWE, Mueller B, Pörschmann U, Trillmich F (2010): Field-Based Age Estimation of Juvenile Galapagos Sea Lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) Using Morphometric Measurements. Aquatic Mammals 36 (3): 262-269.

Mueller B, Pörschmann U, Wolf JBW, Trillmich F (2010): Growth under uncertainty: the influence of marine variability on early development of Galapagos sea lions. Marine Mammal Science 26, DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00404.x.

Spieth H, Pörschmann U, Teiwes C (2011) The occurrence of summer diapause in the large white butterfly Pieris brassicae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae): A geographical perspective. European Journal of Entomology 108, 377–384.

Pörschmann U, Spieth H (2011) Aestivation in Pieris brassicae (L.) affects the parasitoid load caused by Cotesia glomerata (L.). Entomological Science 14, 31-36.

-> Galápagos sea lion project page

Galapagos sea lion at Galapedia

Galapagos sea lion at Wikipedia

Charles Darwin Foundation

Sea Life Base