Sexual segregation, the differential space, habitat or resource use by males and females, can have profound implications for conservation, as one sex may be more vulnerable to environmental and anthropogenic stressors. The drivers of sexual segregation, such as sex differences in body size, breeding constraints, and social behaviour, have been well studied in adults but are poorly understood in immature animals. To determine whether sexual segregation occurs in juvenile Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella, and investigate the underlying drivers, we deployed Global Location Sensors on 26 males and 19 females of 1–3 years of age at Bird Island, South Georgia. Sexual segregation occurred in foraging distribution, primarily in latitude, with females foraging closer to South Georgia and the Polar Front, and males foraging further south near the Antarctic Peninsula. This segregation was particularly evident in Feb–Apr and May–Nov, and males spent more time hauled out than females in May–Nov. Although juveniles have no immediate reproductive commitments, reproductive selection pressures are still likely to operate and drive sex differences in body size, risk-taking, and social roles. These factors, coupled with prey distribution, likely contributed to sexual segregation in juvenile Antarctic fur seals. Consequently, male and female juveniles may compete with different fisheries and respond differently to environmental change, highlighting the importance of considering sex and age groups in species conservation efforts.

性别隔离、男性和女性对空间、栖息地或资源使用的差异可能对保护产生深远的影响，因为一种性别可能更容易受到环境和人为压力因素的影响。性别隔离的驱动因素，例如体型的性别差异、繁殖限制和社会行为，已经在成人中得到了很好的研究，但在未成熟的动物中却知之甚少。为了确定幼年南极毛皮海豹Arctocephalusgagella是否存在性别隔离，并调查潜在的驱动因素，我们在南乔治亚州伯德岛的 1-3 岁的 26 名男性和 19 名女性身上部署了全球定位传感器。性别隔离发生在觅食分布上，主要是在纬度上，雌性在靠近南乔治亚和极地锋的地方觅食，雄性在南极半岛附近的更南端觅食。这种隔离在 2 月至 4 月和 5 月至 11 月尤为明显，并且在 5 月至 11 月期间，雄性比雌性花费更多的时间。尽管青少年没有直接的生殖承诺，但生殖选择压力仍然可能在体型、冒险和社会角色方面发挥作用并推动性别差异。这些因素，加上猎物分布，很可能导致了南极海豹幼年的性别隔离。最后，