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<div class=Section1>

<p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#5D5D5D'>Ethology</span></b><span
class=article-headermeta-info-label><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo5;
vertical-align:baseline'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>        
</span></span></span><![endif]><span class=article-headermeta-info-label><b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;
padding:0in'>First published:</span></b></span><span
class=apple-converted-space><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'> </span></b></span><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>21 February 2017 <o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:0in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo5;
vertical-align:baseline'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>        
</span></span></span><![endif]><span class=article-headermeta-info-label><b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;
padding:0in'>DOI:</span></b></span><span class=apple-converted-space><b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;
padding:0in'> </span></b></span><span class=article-headermeta-info-data><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;
padding:0in'>10.1111/eth.12594</span></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>

<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span
style='font-size:19.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></h1>

<h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><span
style='font-size:19.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Strong
Competition Does Not Always Predict Play Asymmetry: The Case of South American
Sea Lions (<em><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;
padding:0in'>Otaria flavescens</span></em>)<o:p></o:p></span></h1>

<h3 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:3.75pt;margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;
background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><![if !supportLists]><span lang=ES
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol;font-weight:normal'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>        
</span></span></span><![endif]><span lang=ES style='font-size:12.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-weight:normal'>Clara Llamazares-Martín, </span><span
lang=ES style='font-size:12.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-weight:
normal'>Chiara Scopa,</span><span lang=ES style='font-size:12.5pt;font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif";font-weight:normal'> </span><span lang=ES
style='font-size:12.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";font-weight:normal'>Federico
Guillén-Salazar, Elisabetta Palagi<o:p></o:p></span></h3>

<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:3.75pt;
margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><![if !supportLists]><span
lang=ES style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><span
style='mso-list:Ignore'>o<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>   
</span></span></span><![endif]><span lang=ES style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>

<h2 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:.1in;
margin-left:0in;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#414141'>Abstract<o:p></o:p></span></h2>

<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px;
background-position-x:0px;background-position-y:0px'><span style='font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif"'>Although play fighting has been studied for over a
century in both human and non-human animals, quantitative data on marine
mammals are still scarce. Here, we investigated play fighting in South American
sea lions (<em><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";border:none windowtext 1.0pt;
padding:0in'>Otaria flavescens</span></em>)<em><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>,</span></em><span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>one of the most sexually dimorphic
species with an extreme polygynous mating system, high levels of both intra-
and inter-sexual competition. All these features make South American sea lions
a good model species to test some predictions on play fighting. Our results
indicate play is restricted to juveniles, being inhibited among adults, and as
to be expected in a species that shows a high degree of sexual dimorphism, it
is mainly expressed in males. Even though playful interactions were punctuated
by competitive behaviors, animals played in a highly symmetric way and were
able to adjust their competitive playful interactions in a flexible manner and
so reduce the risk of escalation to a minimum level. They were highly selective
in their choice of playmates by limiting the number of players per session and
playing more with age-matched companions and friends. All these factors taken
together are probably at the basis of the low risk of escalation recorded
during the study. This result is predictive of a high ability and motivation of
these animals to engage in play behaviour which can have a possible role not
only in the acquisition of dominance status, but also in establishing and
maintaining social relationships, an unexpected role in a so highly competitive
species.<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>

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