This paper reports the first study of maternal input and care from birth to
weaning in a fur seal with a long pup-rearing period: the subantarctic fur
seal Arctocephalus tropicalis breeding on the temperate Amsterdam Island,
Indian Ocean. The protracted weaning period provided the opportunity for ex
amination of maternal care in relation to seasonal changes in the requireme
nts of the mother-pup pair and environmental conditions. During the reprodu
ctive season 1995-1996, maternal care was investigated in terms of provisio
ning (maternal attendance) pattern while diving effort was investigated usi
ng time depth recorders in summer and winter. Maternal input was calculated
in terms of the absolute rate of pup mass gain and, ultimately, pup growth
rate and pup body mass at weaning. Lactating subantarctic fur seals perfor
m one of the longest attendance cycles described in fur seals, spending on
average 11-23 d at sea from summer to winter. The time mothers spend ashore
suckling their pup is also long (similar to 4 d) but remains constant thro
ughout the year. Throughout the year, maternal input should be described as
follows: mothers spending a long time at sea store a large amount of body
reserves that provide them a good body condition. Consequently, they spend
a long time ashore to transfer their body reserves to their pups. However,
mothers spending short attendance periods increase the mass transfer effici
ency, probably by decreasing their metabolic overhead. In summer, maternal
care was mostly controlled by pup traits: maternal absences appeared to be
controlled by pup fasting ability, while maternal input was controlled by p
up ingestion ability, i.e., pup body size and the time the pup was suckling
. In fall, pups were no longer limited in milk ingestion, and maternal inpu
t was mostly controlled by maternal traits (e.g., body length and experienc
e). In winter, maternal input decreased as the pup became older despite an
increase in maternal diving effort. We propose that, in winter, maternal re
quirements increase, probably in response to increasing costs of gestation
and because of a decrease in food resource availability. Pups whose mother
performed short and regular foraging trips grew faster and were heavier at
weaning than other pups. This is discussed in term of pup fasting endurance
and maternal experience. Finally, we found a window of foraging trip durat
ions that maximizes the net rate of energy acquisition of the pup, suggesti
ng that in subantarctic fur seals there may not exist one optimal maternal
attendance pattern, but a range of patterns promoting the same maternal fit
ness.