We teach our students of behavioural science that one first defines
a research problem, and then the most appropriate animal is
selected to investigate hypotheses. The reverse order of events is
improper: a particular class of animals should not be studied for
its own sake. In the case of the Pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, fur
seals and walruses) the organism and the problem are essentially
the same. The research questions presented in this volume in one
way or another relate to survival in two worlds, the ocean for
foraging, and the terrain at its edge or frozen above it for
breeding. The evolution of Pinniped behaviour and the mechanisms
which underlie it are a consequence of having to cope with two
seemingly incompatible sets of environmental constraints. The
physiological adaptations for concomitant functioning in two media
with very different physical characteristics have produced
correlated behav ioural modifications. The energetic demands of
reproduction and foraging are idiosyncratic because each activity
occurs on opposite sides of the air/water interface. As a result,
the mating system must reconcile aquatic design for such functions
as locomotion and thermoregulation, with the terrestrial
requirements for successful pupping. Similarly, the ecology of this
dual habitat prescribes the rules governing the behaviour of the
neonate and its interactions with its mother."
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