Wildlife ecologist Jen Mannas talks about an ongoing study involving Weddell seals in Antarctica, in this video segment adapted from the Women Working in Antarctica website. Mannas and her team are documenting the reproductive history of females and the development of their pups. The video shows the different methods used to weigh the seals, and explains how important weaning mass is to pup survival. This is one of the longest-running research studies done on long-lived mammals, and scientists like Mannas hope that some of what they learn about these seals can be applied to other wildlife species.
This media asset was adapted from the Women Working in Antarctica website by Mary Lynn Price.