Behaviour of Pinnipeds by Deane RenoufReview by: I.L. BoydJournal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 61, No. 1 (Feb., 1992), p. 238Published by: British Ecological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/5535 .

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238 Reviews

If successful control of pest species is to be achieved more attention should be paid to the ecology of these pests, something which is sadly lacking in this volume.

CALVIN DYTHAM

Deane Renouf (Ed.) (1991) Behaviour of Pinnipeds. Pp. 410. Chapman & Hall, London. Price ?65.00 (hardback).

Since G.A. Bartholomew provided us with a model for the evolution of pinniped polygyny, a generation of students of behavioural ecology has broadened our knowledge of their mating systems to find the patterns he predicted and the ultimate environ- mental factors responsible for their evolution. Pinnipeds have a degree of morphological and physiological consistency between species which makes them interesting and rewarding for the study of behavioural evolution in relation to environmental constraints. Behavioural strategies are generally compared at two levels, (i) between the major taxa, otariids (eared seals), phocids (true seals) and odobenids (walrus), and (ii) between species within the otarids and phocids. It has long been recognized that the anatomy and physiology of otarids and phocids reflect differences in their global distribution and feeding strategies, adapted to exploiting dif- ferent marine environments, and this may reflect early divergence of the ancestral stocks or different sites of origin.

This comparison is a recurring theme in this timely summary of current knowledge of pinniped behav- iour. It highlights recent advances in the under- standing of pinniped biology and such remaining gaps as the behaviour of the crabeater seal, arguably the most abundant of all seals, and the recent dis- covery that the hooded seal has almost completely dispensed with lactation and the elephant seal can dive regularly to over 1000m for more than 60 min, challenging conventional ideas about physiological constraints to behaviour.

However, it is a heavy and expensive book writ- ten with little consideration for the non-specialist reader, with the seven chapters by different authors each highly experienced and specialized in a par- ticular aspect of pinniped behaviour. This gives the book authority and the individual chapters, which could easily stand as works in their own right, are a strength and a weakness because in seven substantial contributions there is little cross-referencing and a good deal of repetition.

The first two chapters, on mating systems, take different approaches to the subject. Chapter 1, on otariids by Daryl Boness, seeks general patterns by relating operational sex ratios to mass differences between the sexes, female density at the breeding

grounds and oestrous synchrony. In contrast, the chapter dealing with phocids seeks to place their mating systems in the broader context of behav- ioural ecology. Both approaches have merits and are successful but some coordination of style and content would be useful. Chapter 3, an extensive and useful summary of the literature on the ecology, morphology, growth and behaviour of pinniped neonates by Don Bowen, has much to commend it but, like so much of this book, it provides no new insights, questions or concepts. Chapters 4, by Edward Miller and 6 by Dan Costa differ in being directed at the ethology of pinnipeds and the reproductive and foraging energetics, respectively. Costa's hypothesis is that the contrasting life-history strategies of otariids and phocids are reflected in their habitats and foraging behaviour. In essence, he suggests that phocids are conservative foragers enabling them to occupy habitats where productivity is low. Otariids' more costly foraging is only optimal in highly productive regions. Costa admits the data for this hypothesis are limited, but they provide an important platform for future research.

Despite the disadvantages of such multi-authored books this one should appeal to a wide range of behavioural scientists as a reference text and is an important contribution to marine mammalogy.

I.L. BOYD

S.C. Ridgill & A.D. Fox (1990) Cold Weather Movements of Waterfowl in Western Europe. IWRB Special Publication 13, Slimbridge, UK, 87 pp. Numerous species distribution maps and line drawings.

The report investigates cold weather movements of nine common species of wildfowl (shelduck, wigeon, teal, mallard, pintail, shoveler, pochard, tufted duck and coot), using ringing recovery data (spanning 1950-86), and International Waterfowl Census count information (spanning 1967-86). Recovery data from five countries, Britain, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Finland, were used.

The study showed that all species, to varying degrees, attempted to avoid periods of hard weather by migrating to more amicable conditions. Seven species showed some level of increased mortality during periods of abnormally cold weather. Ordin- ation analysis was used to investigate 'grouping' of normal and hard winters using the proportion of the total population of a species occurring within a set of regions. It is pointed out that little is known about the existence of increased intraspecific com- petition on the sites experiencing better weather, nor the subsequent effects on overall population size.

After the methodological section of the report

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