Ashley Pearson at Año Nuevo State Reserve, CA-- Hey, I'm Ashley Pearson!  Nice to meet you, TOPP.org!  I'm a senior biology major at UCSC, and I'm doing a senior thesis through the Costa lab at Long Marine Lab.  As part of my thesis, I have become a member of the TOPP E Seal team!  From time to time I will blog about the my project and the animals we work with.  Ashley and Josephine's pup at Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve. Photo: Nicole Teutschel.

As a beginner out in the beach, I have become interested in the mom-pup interactions...I just can's resist those cute pup faces!  One facinating thing about elephant seals is that the closer females get to being "middle-aged” the better their pups become at storing fat.  This correlation was found by one of TOPP’s own researchers, Cory Champagne!  This age-storage relationship leads us to ask, why are pups with middle aged moms better at storing fat than pups with younger or older moms?  There are two approaches to answering this question: looking at pup behavior, and studying pup physiology.  My research is looking at the behavioral portion of this question…lucky me!  My team of research volunteers and I go out 4 times a week and sit on sand dunes to watch the pups with their moms.  
 

Melinda Fowler and Lauren Randall observing a harem on North Point beach at Año Nuevo.  Photo:  Ashley Pearson

This is the view from the sand dune we sit on...not bad huh?  Photo: Ashley Pearson

We have chosen 5 pairs of moms and pups (and will have 10 eventually) to watch for our study.  Every 15 minutes, we record what each of these 5 pups are doing.  At the end of my study, I will be able to look at my observations and see what the majority of skinny pups spent their time doing versus what the majority of fatter pups spent their time on.  We are expecting to see that skinnier pups spend more of their time being active, and the fatter ones are lazier.  This would support the idea that fat storage is more affected by behavior than physiology.

Doing behavioral observations is really fun.  While we’re watching the pups, we get to see male fights, many attempted copulations, few actual copulations, and hopefully, eventually, a birth!  Not to mention, watching the pups which are SO cute!

Two males fighting for territory and control of the harem.  Photo:  Ashley Pearson

The male is calling to announce to other males his status as alpha of the harem, and the female is giving a warning call to the male to stay away.  Photo:  Ashley Pearson

One thing I’ve learned while watching the seals from above, is that not all E Seals are good moms. Sometimes on long days, it seems like all E Seals are the same, but not so!  Some moms often lose their pups or even forget about them! Some moms adopt pups that aren’t theirs, which isn’t a good thing if there’s not enough milk going around.  We see a lot of orphaned pups and moms with two pups.  Sadly, these pups will all probably die because they are not getting enough food.  

Did you ever get picked on in school, and wish your mom was there to get that bully? Tough E Seal moms don’t take any lip! E seals protect their pups from males, other females, and other pups searching for a second meal! We’ve seen females fight for hours! They even bite other pups that get close to them! For e seals, mama’s got your back!

A mother and her pup sleeping on the beach...aren't you jealous?!  This particular pup is one of the seals we're watching for our study.  We know which pup to watch because of the dye marks on their mothers. The dye used is lady Clariol, only the best for the E Seals!  You can see her mark on her right side, near her back flippers. Photo:  Ashley Pearson

One of our satellite tagged females, last year's "Annie", acting aggressive to protect her pup. Photo: Nicole Teutschel 

To learn more, check out Elephant Seal Homecoming Days!