Time budgets and topography: how energy reserves and terrain determine the breeding behaviour of grey seals

Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) fast during the pupping and mating season; they are polygynous and throughout their breeding range they occupy a variety of habitats. Time allocation patterns are consistent with the fact that grey seal energy reserves are limited during the breeding season. Variations in the activity budgets of seals in different types of habitat appear to be determined by the nature of the terrain occupied. This behavioural flexibility may well have been an important feature in the evolution of the species.