Southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina: composition of milk during lactation

Carlini, Alejandro R; Márquez, María Elena; Soave, Guillermo E.; Vergani, D. F.; Ferrer, Patricia

doi:10.1007/bf00240270

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…2B). As is the case in most other phocids (Riedman and Ortiz 1979;Carlini et al 1994;Kovacs 1996, 1999;Mellish et al 1999a;Oftedal 2011), Weddell seal milk is initially lower in fat, DM, and energy content, and the concentration of these constituents increases rapidly during early lactation to approach plateau values at around 15-18 dpp, that is, after ca. of the lactation 35%-40% period has passed (figs.…”

Section: Proximate Composition and Effect Of Lactation Stagementioning

confidence: 88%

“…It is common to use chemical immobilization in order to collect milk from large and potentially dangerous seal species (e.g., Oftedal et al 1988;Baker 1990;Iverson et al 1993;Carlini et al 1994;Hindell et al 1994;Márquez et al 2008;Wheatley et al 2008). However, administration of drugs carries the risk of metabolic disturbance and/or mortality.…”

Section: Proximate Composition and Effect Of Lactation Stagementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Milk Composition in the Weddell SealLeptonychotes weddellii: Evidence for a Functional Role of Milk Carbohydrates in Pinnipeds

Eisert¹,

Oftedal²,

Barrell³

2013

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We propose that secretion of milk sugar has important consequences for the metabolic economies of lactating phocid seals and their pups. Milk was collected from 21 Weddell seals Leptonychotes weddellii in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, and assayed by standard methods. Milk composition changed over the course of lactation, but at mid- to late lactation (16-40 d postpartum), Weddell seal milk composition was relatively constant at 33.8% +/- 0.82% water, 54.0% +/- 0.80% fat, 10.1% +/- 0.16% crude protein, 0.84% +/- 0.03% sugar, 0.75% +/- 0.02% ash, and 23.3 +/- 0.3 kJ g−1 whole milk (WM). At this stage, milk composition varied among individual seals in all assayed constituents except ash. The concentration of sugar in the aqueous phase of Weddell seal milk ( 24.9 +/- 0.6g sugar L−1 water) was ca. 44%-77% of levels found in terrestrial carnivores, indicating that the low sugar concentration of WM is primarily due to its high fat content, not alteration of the aqueous phase. In early lactation, fasting Weddell seals were estimated to devote 39 g d(-1) glucose to milk sugar synthesis, an amount similar to the estimated demand of the maternal brain. This additional glucose demand must be covered by gluconeogenesis in fasting animals and represents a considerable additional drain on maternal resources. However, provision of sugar to offspring at rates sufficient to meet neonatal substrate requirements appears to be essential for efficient fat and protein deposition and thus may be an important component of the phocid reproductive strategy of rapid growth and early weaning.

show abstract

Section: Proximate Composition and Effect Of Lactation Stagementioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Proximate Composition and Effect Of Lactation Stagementioning

confidence: 99%

Milk Composition in the Weddell SealLeptonychotes weddellii: Evidence for a Functional Role of Milk Carbohydrates in Pinnipeds

Eisert¹,

Oftedal²,

Barrell³

2013

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Increases in fat content of more than 30% during the course of lactation have been recorded for many species (Kooyman and Drabek 1968;Riedman and Ortiz 1979;Iverson et al 1993;Carlini et al 1994;Lydersen and Kovacs 1996). However, for bearded seal mothers nursing pups that ranged in BM from 39 to 101 kg (Fig.…”

Section: (Phoca 9roenlandica) and Hooded (Cystophora Cristata)mentioning

confidence: 93%

Energy intake and utilisation by nursing bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) pups from Svalbard, Norway

et al. 1996

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this study we measure energy intake via milk in nursing bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) pups and determine how this energy is allocated into metabolism and storage of new tissues. This was accomplished using longitudinal mass gain records and the doubly labelled water technique on nursing pups in combination with cross-sectional data on changes in milk composition from bearded seal mothers. The pups (n = 3) were all less than a week old at the start of the experiments. Pups gained 3.3 +/- 0.4 kg.day-1 of which 50% was fat, 14% protein and 36% water. Average daily water influx for the pups was 69.5 +/- 9.0 ml.kg-1. day-1. Average CO2 production during the study period was 0.99 +/- 0.10 ml.g-1.h-1, which corresponds to a field metabolic rate of 642 +/- 67 kJ.kg-1. day-1, or 6.0 +/- 0.5 times the predicted basal metabolic rate according to Kleiber (1975). The pups drank an average of 7.6 +/- 0.5 kg of milk daily. This corresponds to a daily energy intake of 154 +/- 8 MJ, 47 +/- 14% of which was stored as new body tissue. Despite this high energy intake bearded seal pups do not get as fat as do other nursing phocids. This is in part due to their larger body size but also due to their very active aquatic lifestyle and the lower and more consistent fat content of the milk compared to other phocid species. Bearded seal mothers forage during lactation and may also be involved in teaching their pups to feed independently. All these data suggest that the lactation strategy of bearded seals differs from the phocid norm.

show abstract

“…Similarly, the examination of the data of Gales et al (1996) suggests a similar pattern in the later stage of lactation in Australian sea lions. Despite the several differences in life history traits between otariids and phocids, it is interesting to note that lipid content reaches an asymptotic value in the last days of lactation in grey seals Halichoerus grypus (Iverson et al 1993), while it decreases during the same period in southern elephant seals (Carlini et al 1994). A previous study showed that on Amsterdam Island, lactating subantarctic fur seals transfer their body reserves at a higher rate in both summer and fall (pups gain ∼270 g/d mothers spent at sea) than in winter (∼170 g/d mothers spent at sea; Georges and Guinet 2000b), while milk energy content is the highest in fall (this study).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Milking Strategy in Subantarctic Fur SealsArctocephalus tropicalisBreeding on Amsterdam Island: Evidence from Changes in Milk Composition

Georges¹,

Groscolas²,

Guinet³

et al. 2001

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Milk composition was investigated throughout the 10-mo pup-rearing period in subantarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus tropicalis) breeding on Amsterdam Island. The mean milk composition was 42.8% +/- 5.7% lipid, 12.1% +/- 1.5% protein, and 42.6% +/- 7.3% water. Subantarctic fur seals breeding on Amsterdam Island produced one of the richest milks ever reported in otariids (20.4 +/- 2.9 kJ/g), with lipid content contributing 85% of total gross energy. The high lipid levels measured in the milk of subantarctic fur seals breeding on Amsterdam Island is consistent (i) with the relatively long time lactating females spend at sea, due to the relatively poor local trophic conditions near the colony that necessitate that they travel long distances to reach the foraging grounds, and (ii) with the consequently short time mothers spend with their pups ashore. Milk composition changed according to the time mothers were fasting ashore: milk produced during the first 2 d spent ashore, when more than 80% of milk transfer occurred, had higher levels of lipids, proteins, and gross energy than milk produced later during the visit ashore, suggesting that the pups were fed with two types of milk during a suckling period. Throughout the year, mothers in good condition produced milk of higher lipid content than others, suggesting that individual foraging skills contribute to enhance milk quality. Milk lipid and gross energy content varied with pup age, according to quadratic relationships, increasing during the earlier stages of lactation before reaching asymptotic values when pups were 180 d old. The stage of lactation appears to be a better predictor of milk lipid content than the duration of the preceding foraging trip, suggesting that either changes in the nutritional requirements of the pup and/or seasonal changes in trophic conditions act on milk composition. These changes in milk quality may also be related to changes in maternal care; lactating subantarctic fur seals apparently reallocate their body reserves toward gestation rather than lactation at the end of the pup-rearing period.

show abstract

Southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina: composition of milk during lactation

Cited by 25 publications

References 19 publications

Milk Composition in the Weddell SealLeptonychotes weddellii: Evidence for a Functional Role of Milk Carbohydrates in Pinnipeds

Milk Composition in the Weddell SealLeptonychotes weddellii: Evidence for a Functional Role of Milk Carbohydrates in Pinnipeds

Energy intake and utilisation by nursing bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) pups from Svalbard, Norway

Milking Strategy in Subantarctic Fur SealsArctocephalus tropicalisBreeding on Amsterdam Island: Evidence from Changes in Milk Composition

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About