Galimberti,F. & Boitani,L. & Marzetti,I.  2000. Female strategies of
harassment reduction in southern elephant seals. Ethol. Ecol. Evol.
12(4): 367-388.

Abstract Female southern elephant seals are expected to adopt behaviours
that reduce the costs of male harassment. We studied thestrategies and
tactics of harassment reduction in two populations, at Punta Delgada
(Valdˇs Peninsula, Argentina) and at Sea Lion Island (Falkland Islands)
during five breeding seasons in all. Females  synchronized their
breeding activities to reduce harassment risk, and rarely bred alone to
reduce the likelihood of encounters with subadult males. Females showed
a clear preference for larger harems, that guaranteed a reduced
harassment risk: movements between arrival on land and parturition were
mostly from smaller to larger harems, and the likelihood of abandonment
was lower for large harems. Females protested against approaching males
in the vast majority of interactions, regardless of the social context
and the status of the interacting male, but protest varied with female
breeding status and male phenotype. Frequency of protest of individual
females decreased linearly from the beginning of oestrus to departure to
sea. Interactions with mature males were less protested. The frequency
of protest linearly decreased with increase in age class, and mating
attempts by males of higher status and dominance rank were less often
protested. Most of this variation with male phenotype, however, was due
to the higher probability of older and more dominant males to interact
with oestrus females that had an intrinsicly lower tendency to protest.
Protest variation in relation to male phenotype was more parsimoniously
explained as a consequence of differential access of males to oestrus
females rather than of female selectivity. Protests had a role in
disruption of mating attempts, although the phenotype of interactors was
more important: adult, large and dominant males disrupted interactions
regardless of incitation by female protest.