Sex, body size, and boldness shape the seasonal foraging habitat selection in southern elephant seals

Selecting foraging habitat is a fundamental behaviour in the life of organisms as it directly links resource acquisition to fitness. Differences in habitat selection among individuals may arise from several intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and yet, their interaction has been given little attention in the study of wild populations.
We combine sex, body size, and boldness to explain individual differences in the seasonal foraging habitat selection of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) from the Kerguelen Archipelago. We hypothesize that habitat selection is linked to the trade-off between resource acquisition and risk, and that individuals differ in their position along this trade-off because of differences in reproductive strategies, life stages, and metabolic requirements.
Before the post-moult foraging trip, we used a novel object approach test to quantify the boldness of 28 subadult and adult females and 42 subadult males and equipped them with data loggers to track their movem..., , , # Data from: Sex, body size, and boldness shape the seasonal foraging habitat selection in southern elephant seals

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.g1jwstqs6](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.g1jwstqs6)

## Description of the data and file structure

### Files and variables

#### File: boldness_test_data.txt

**Description:** 

##### Variables

* animal_id : seal id
* datetime : date and time (utc) of the test
* observation_id : novel object approach test id
* tester_id : tester id
* head : the percentage of time the seal head was up in a low position
* head_high : the percentage of time the seal head was up in a high position
* stand : the percentage of time the seal was standing in a low position
* stand_high : the percentage of time the seal was standing in a high position
* mouth : the percentage of time the seal mouth was opened
* vocalization : the percentage of time the seal was v...,