Elephant Seals: An Introduction to the Genus

The aim of this chapter is to provide information on the origins, nomenclature, and key features in the ecology and life history of elephant seals that will serve as background for the specialized chapters that follow. Research on both species has been both intensive and extensive. The more accessible northern species has been particularly closely studied at Año Nuevo Island, where large cohorts of known-age marked animals provide longitudinal data, and intensive year-round studies of behavior have been made. Research on the southern species has been concentrated on the breeding season because the remote and rigorous environment in which it