The energy expenditure by mother Weddell seals during the suckling period

They give birth to pups in the Antarctic summer when they haul out onto the ice. While feeding their pups, they have a massive fasting weight loss (and fat mobilisation) and their suckling pup has a correspondingly massive weight gain and fat deposition.

The amount of energy expeded by the mother seals during the suckling period was investigated. Different techniques were used to determine energy expenditure on two non-suckling adults and two suckling mother-pup pairs including weighing the seals, measuring body size (length and girth), measuring the thickness of fat/blubber under the skin using an ultrasound scanner, measuring the total body water as an index of fatness and measuring milk production over a 10-day interval.