Development of an altricial mammal at sea: II. Energy budgets of female sea otters and their pups in Simpson Bay, Alaska

Lactation is a critical and energetically expensive period of reproduction, especially for female sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and their pups, both of which have resting metabolic rates that are ca. 2.5-fold higher than terrestrial mammals of similar size. The simultaneous energy budgets for female A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology 2016-08, Vol.481, p.81-91
Main Authors: Cortez, Michelle, Goertz, Caroline E.C., Gill, Verena A., Davis, Randall W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alaska
Energy budget
Enhydra lutris
Lutrinae
Marine
Maternal care
Pup development
Sea otter
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Summary:Lactation is a critical and energetically expensive period of reproduction, especially for female sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and their pups, both of which have resting metabolic rates that are ca. 2.5-fold higher than terrestrial mammals of similar size. The simultaneous energy budgets for female Alaskan sea otters and their pups during the first three months postpartum were calculated based on published activity budgets for wild animals and metabolic rates for specific behaviors of captive sea otters. Pups were classified into three behavioral/size categories: Category 1 (C1) 0–
ISSN:0022-0981
1879-1697
DOI:10.1016/j.jembe.2016.03.018