Pup Production Following Harvest of Female Northern Fur Seals

Female northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) were harvested commercially from 1956 to 1968 and pelagic collections were taken for research purposes from 1958 to 1974. Early survival rates (birth to age 2) for males increased from an average of 0.32 before the harvest to 0.38 afterwards. Numbers o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Main Authors: York, Anne E., Hartley, James R.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1981
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f81-011
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f81-011
Description
Summary:Female northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) were harvested commercially from 1956 to 1968 and pelagic collections were taken for research purposes from 1958 to 1974. Early survival rates (birth to age 2) for males increased from an average of 0.32 before the harvest to 0.38 afterwards. Numbers of female pups whose births were precluded by the harvest are estimated for the years 1956–79; these account for about 70% of the difference between the numbers of pups actually born and the level of pup births before 1956. Estimates of the increased numbers of pups due to the increase in the early survival rates are presented for the years 1958–74.Key words: northern fur seal, population dynamics, female harvest, cohort analysis, St. Paul Island