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Abstract--Knowing where pinnipeds forage is vital to managing and protecting their populations, and for assessing potential interactions with fisheries. We assessed the spatial relationship between the seasonal distribution of Pacific [...]

The population of black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) at the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve in northwestern Belize was studied for a total of 11.5 months during 2 wet and 2 dry seasons between October 1993 and May 1995. We estimated home-range size and range overlap of troops in order to examine territoriality, and tested the null hypothesis that the population is uniformly distributed throughout the reserve in order to examine habitat use. Home-range sizes were similar to those at Bermudian Landing, Belize, but smaller than those at Tikal, Guatemala. Mean home-range size was estimated as 15.3 ha with 52% overlap based on a 1.0-ha grid. There was no evidence for territoriality. Population distribution was generally uniform, but ruin sites appeared to be preferred habitat and edge habitat was least frequented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this research was to determine when harbor seal pup vocalizations become sufficiently distinctive to allow individual recognition. A total of 4593 calls were analyzed from 15 captive pups. Nineteen were harsh, broadband, staccato calls used in an aggressive context. The rest were tonal “mother attraction calls,” having an inverted “v”- or “u”-shaped spectrogram with harmonics and a fundamental frequency around 200–600 Hz. Calls were individually distinctive even in pups less than 2 weeks old, suggesting that mothers may be able to recognize pup vocalizations at this early age. Classification rates from discriminant function analysis were generally comparable to those of other phocids and less than in otariids, supporting the theory that recognition is more highly developed in otariids. Significant differences were found between male and female pup calls, and there were significant interactions between pup sex and age. The results of this study should be interpreted with caution until the findings are verified in wild harbor seal pups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]