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that during our study the HIB procedure had only a short-term affect on the behavior of SSL pups. Does Hot Iron Branding Affect Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) Pup Behavior? S.V. Fomin 1 , O.A. Belonovich 2 , M.N. Ososkova 3 , E.G. Mamaev 2 , V.N. Burkanov 1,4 , T. S. Gelatt 4 Hot iron branding (HIB) is a widely used method of permanently marking Steller sea lions (SSL) for demographic studies. We investigated the behavior of eight pups 2 days prior to and 5 days following HIB on June 30, 2010 at Medny Island, Russia. As a control group, we monitored another five pups which went through the same procedures as branded pups (handling, measuring, anesthetizing), but were bleached for marking and not branded. Six types of behavior (sleeping, suckling, play, active, locomotion, grooming) were recorded. Play behavior significantly decreased on the 1 st (F=9.9, p=0.007) and 2 nd (F=9.2, p=0.009) days after branding. Grooming behavior was significantly lower on the 5 th day after branding (Z=2.6, p=0.01). Sleeping was longer on the 3 rd (F=19.19, p=0.001) and 5 days. Other behavior types weren't statistically different among the branded pups before and after branding. Comparing branded and bleached pups behavior, we found a significant difference only in suckling activity; bleached pups suckled milk longer during the 1 st day after branding (Z=-2.9, p=0.003). Bleached pups were smaller and lighter on average than branded pups (p=0.0001), so this increase may be due to their younger age. Only duration of play behavior changed significantly during the initial days after branding, but it resumed to pre-branding level on the 3 rd day after branding. We did not record any mortality or health condition problems among the handled pups during the initial 5 days of continuous monitoring and in later observation through mid-September. Overall, we concluded that during our study the HIB procedure had only a short-term effect on the behavior of SSL pups. The SSL pups HIB was conducted on Yugo-Vostochnoe rookery of Medny Island on June 30, 2010. Ten pups were painted from a paintball gun on June 28. Eight of them were branded on June 30, 2010. Five pups were captured and went through all the same handling procedures as Six types of behavior (active running, minor movement on one place, grooming, suckling, play, and sleeping) were recorded in 10 minute After branding, the behavior of all 13 marked but not branded pups Methods _______________________________Results_______________________________________ 1 Kamchatka Branch of Pacific Geographical Institute FEB RAS, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia. 2 Kamchatka Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia. 3 Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology named after K.I.Skryabin, Russia. 4 National Marine Mammal Laboratory, AFSC, NMFS, NOAA,USA. Abstract Behavior/ Day Active Grooming Locomotion Play Suckling Sleeping 1 st 0.15 0.60 0.10 0.007 0.10 0.08 2 nd 0.08 0.40 0.01 0.009 0.15 0.08 3 rd 0.50 0.80 0.60 0.06 0.15 0.001 4 st 0.50 0.10 0.70 0.90 0.20 0.17 5 st 0.20 0.01 0.20 0.90 0.27 0.04 Mean ±SE ±SD 4th 5th % time locomotio n. Mean ±SE ±SD 4th 5th 0,12 0,14 0,16 0,18 0,20 0,22 0,24 % time % time grooming. 0,10 0,15 0,20 0,25 0,30 % time % time play. Mean ±SE ±SD before 1st 2nd 3nd 4th 5th Day -0,05 0,00 0,05 0,10 0,15 0,20 0,25 0,30 % time C day after branding, suckling behavior was significantly greater for bleached pups than for branded pups (Z=-2.9, p=0.003). Other types of behavior during first 5 days after branding were not significantly different for branded and bleached pups. Difference in pups behaviour during 1st day after branding. branded bleached -0,1 0,0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9 % time Active Grooming Locomotion Play Suckling Sleeping The pups different body parts usage before and after branding. before 1st day 2nd day -0,2 0,0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1,0 1,2 % time Back Left Belly Right Pup body side preference During the first ten days after branding, SSL pups did not significantly favor any side of their body compared to the time period before branding. Female presence with pups before and after branding. no female with female before 1st day 2nd day -0,2 0,0 0,2 0,4 0,6 0,8 1,0 1,2 % time Females presence with pups Generally, females spent more time with pups after branding than before branding, but the difference was not significant Conclusion Hot iron branding had only a short-term discernable effect on the behavior of this small sample of Steller sea lion pups. Acknowledgments We are very grateful to Olga Titiova , Dariay Zakharova, Vladimir Yakovlev and Aleksey Chizhov for their help during data collecting. Also we are very grateful to the m/v “Georg Steller” crew, all participants who worked with logistics and pup branding on Medny Island. This work was funded by NMML, NOAA, ASLC, NPWC and KB PGI FED RAN. Olga Belonovich Vladimir Burkanov Evgeny Mamaev Marya Ososkova Tom Gelatt Fig. 1. SSL bleached pup #3 with the female. Fig. 2. Painted SSL pups with their mothers. Sergey Fomin Branding effect on different types of pup behavior Comparison of branded and bleached pup behavior (A) Grooming behavior was significantly lower on the 5 th day after branding: Z=2.6, p=0.01. (B) Locomotion activity significantly increased on the 2 nd day: F=7.2, p=0.01. (C) Play behavior significantly decrease on the 1 st and 2 nd day: F=9.9, p=0.007; F=9.2, p=0.009. (D) Sleeping time significantly increased on the 3 rd and 5 th day: F=19.19, p=0.001; F=4.9, p=0.04.
