Students
Partial list of Graduate students awarded PhDs (or MAs as noted) with Le Bœuf as advisor:
Roger Gentry wrote a thesis on the social behavior of Steller Sea Lions (1970) and then went on to write books on his research on Alaska fur seals (Gentry and Kooymana 1986; Gentry 1998).
Michael Bonnell conducted research on the loss of genetic variability in elephant seals (Bonnell and Selander 1974), high DDE residues in California sea lions (Le Boeuf and Bonnell 1971), and studied the pinniped populations in the Channel Islands of southern California (Le Boeuf and Bonnell 1980).
Jack Nelson (1976) wrote a thesis on Sexual Selection and the Swordtail Fish, Xiphophorus helleri.
Kenneth Briggs documented elephant seal pup mortality, the cost of living in a seal harem (Le Boeuf and Briggs 1977) and the avian fauna of Año Nuevo Island (Tyler and Briggs 1981).
Cathy Cox conducted a study of female incitation of male competition in elephant seals, a mechanism in sexual selection (Cox and Le Boeuf 1977; Cox 1981).
Terry Christensen (UC Berkeley) documented female aggression in the female elephant seal (Christenson and Le Boeuf 1978).
Mark O. Pierson (1978) A Study of the Population Dynamics and Breeding Behavior of the
Guadalupe Fur Seal, Arctocephalus townsendi.
Huey P. Newton (History of Consciousness) (1980) War Against the Panthers: A Study of
Repression in America
Marianne Riedman conducted an in-depth study of mother-pup separation and adoption in elephant seals (Riedman and Le Boeuf 1982) and went to write a book on pinnipeds, and several studies of sea otters.
David Aurioles (1982) Contribucion al Conocimiento de la Conducta Migratoria del Lobo
Marino de California, Zalophus californianus.
Richard Condit (1984) Feeding Biology of the Northern Elephant Seal
Lesley Higgins (MA) (1984) Maternal Behavior and Attendance patterns of the Steller Sea Lion
in California
Joanne Reiter studied Female Competition and Reproductive Success in the Northern
Elephant Seals (Reiter et al. 1981).
Robert Gisiner (1985) Male Territoriality and Reproductive Behavior in the Steller Sea Lion,
Eumetopias jubatus
Claudio Campagna studied the Breeding Behavior of Southern Sea Lions in Patagonia, Argentina (Campagna and Le Boeuf, 1988a, 1988b; Campagna et al. 1988a, 1988b) and continued with studies of southern elephant seals (Campagna et al. 1995; 1998) and publications on conservation (Campagna et al. 2017a, 2017b).
John Francis studied aggression and maternal care in northern fur seals and California sea lions (Francis and Heath 1985).
Carolyn B. Heath (1989) wrote her thesis on The Behavioral Ecology of the California Sea Lion
Walter Clinton (1990) wrote his thesis on Sexual Selection and the Life History of Male Northern Elephant Seals (Clinton and Le Boeuf 1993).
Charles Deutsch (1990) Behavioral and Energetic Aspects of Reproductive Effort of Male
Northern Elephant Seals (Mirounga angustirostris) (Deutsch et al. 1994).
Mike Haley (1990) devised a method for weighing male elephant seals, an essential tool for studying reproductive effort (Haley et al. 1991).
Evelyn Hanggi (1992) Underwater Acoustic Displays and Conditional Discrimination Learning
by Harbor Seals (Phoca Vitulina).
Philip Thorson (1993) conducted fundamental research on Development of Diving in the Northern Elephant Seal (Thorson and Le Boeuf 1994).
Juan Pablo Gallo-Reynoso (1994) Factors Affecting the Population Status of Guadalupe Fur
Seal, Arctocephalus townsendi (Merriam, 1897), at Isla de Guadalupe, Baja California,
Mexico.
Ana Luisa Figueroa Carranza (MA) (1994) Early Lactation and Attendance Behavior of the
Guadaluppe Fur Seal Females (Arctocephalus townsendi).
Naomi Rose did her thesis on Killer whales (Orca) social behavior and conducted studies on sexual behavior directed to weaned pups (Rose et al. 1991).
Daniel Crocker (1995) did fundamental research on reproductive effort and fasting physiology of female Northern Elephant Seals, Mirounga angustirostris, and many other key studies of elephant seal behavior and physiology (Crocker et al. 1997, 1998, 2001, 2006).
Stacia Fletcher (M.Sc) (1996) made the first acoustic recording from hydrophones attached to diving Elephant Seals.
Susanna Blackwell conducted fundamental research on Terrestrial Apneas in Northern Elephant Seals, Mirounga angustirostris, and it’s role in water economy while fasting (Blackwell and Le Boeuf 1993).
Jennifer Jolly (MA) (1997) Foraging Ecology of the Sea Otter, Enhydra lutris, in a Soft-sediment Community.
David Levenson (MA) (1997) Dark Adaptation and Visual Sensitivity in Pinnipeds: Pupillometry and Behavioral Psychophysics.
Guy Oliver (1997) wrote a thesis on The Homing and Diving of Translocated Juvenile Northern Elephant Seals, Mirounga angustirostris Gill, 1866, a useful method for short-term studies of the diving behavior of instrumented seals (Oliver et al. 1998).
Paul Webb (1999) Effects of Buoyancy and Body Composition on the Diving Behavior and
Swimming Effort of Northern Elephant Seals, Mirounga angustirostris (Webb et al. 1998a, 1998b).
Maria Kretzmann conducted research on the maternal energy investment in elephant seal pups (Kretzmann et al. 1993).
Sean Hayes (2002) wrote a thesis on Mating Strategies and Reproductive Success of the Male Pacific Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina richardsi) (Hayes et al. 2004a, 2004b).