Historical population size of the threatened New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri
Abstract Marine mammal species were exploited worldwide during periods of commercial sealing in the 18th and 19th centuries. For many of these species, an estimate of the pre-exploitation abundance of the species is lacking, as historical catch records are generally scarce and inaccurate. Genetic es...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv187 http://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-pdf/97/2/436/33346550/gyv187.pdf |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/jmammal/gyv187 2023-05-15T15:33:36+02:00 Historical population size of the threatened New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri Collins, Catherine J. Chilvers, B. Louise Taylor, Matthew Robertson, Bruce C. 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv187 http://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-pdf/97/2/436/33346550/gyv187.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model Journal of Mammalogy volume 97, issue 2, page 436-443 ISSN 1545-1542 0022-2372 Nature and Landscape Conservation Genetics Animal Science and Zoology Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2015 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv187 2022-04-15T06:27:16Z Abstract Marine mammal species were exploited worldwide during periods of commercial sealing in the 18th and 19th centuries. For many of these species, an estimate of the pre-exploitation abundance of the species is lacking, as historical catch records are generally scarce and inaccurate. Genetic estimates of long-term effective population size provide a means to estimate the pre-exploitation abundance. Here, we apply genetic methods to estimate the long-term effective population size of the subantarctic lineage of the New Zealand sea lion (NZ sea lion), Phocarctos hookeri . This species is predominantly restricted to the subantarctic islands, south of mainland New Zealand, following commercial sealing in the 19th century. Today, the population consists of ~9,880 animals and population growth is slow. Auckland Island breeding colonies of NZ sea lion are currently impacted by commercial trawl fisheries via regular sea lion deaths as bycatch. In order to estimate sustainable levels of bycatch, an estimate of the population’s carrying capacity ( K ) is required. We apply the genetically estimated long-term effective population size of NZ sea lions as a proxy for the estimated historical carrying capacity of the subantarctic population. The historical abundance of subantarctic NZ sea lions was significantly higher than the target values of K employed by the contemporary management. The current management strategy may allow unsustainable bycatch levels, thereby limiting the recovery of the NZ sea lion population toward historical carrying capacity. Article in Journal/Newspaper Auckland Island Oxford University Press (via Crossref) New Zealand Journal of Mammalogy 97 2 436 443 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Oxford University Press (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
croxfordunivpr |
language |
English |
topic |
Nature and Landscape Conservation Genetics Animal Science and Zoology Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Nature and Landscape Conservation Genetics Animal Science and Zoology Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Collins, Catherine J. Chilvers, B. Louise Taylor, Matthew Robertson, Bruce C. Historical population size of the threatened New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri |
topic_facet |
Nature and Landscape Conservation Genetics Animal Science and Zoology Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Abstract Marine mammal species were exploited worldwide during periods of commercial sealing in the 18th and 19th centuries. For many of these species, an estimate of the pre-exploitation abundance of the species is lacking, as historical catch records are generally scarce and inaccurate. Genetic estimates of long-term effective population size provide a means to estimate the pre-exploitation abundance. Here, we apply genetic methods to estimate the long-term effective population size of the subantarctic lineage of the New Zealand sea lion (NZ sea lion), Phocarctos hookeri . This species is predominantly restricted to the subantarctic islands, south of mainland New Zealand, following commercial sealing in the 19th century. Today, the population consists of ~9,880 animals and population growth is slow. Auckland Island breeding colonies of NZ sea lion are currently impacted by commercial trawl fisheries via regular sea lion deaths as bycatch. In order to estimate sustainable levels of bycatch, an estimate of the population’s carrying capacity ( K ) is required. We apply the genetically estimated long-term effective population size of NZ sea lions as a proxy for the estimated historical carrying capacity of the subantarctic population. The historical abundance of subantarctic NZ sea lions was significantly higher than the target values of K employed by the contemporary management. The current management strategy may allow unsustainable bycatch levels, thereby limiting the recovery of the NZ sea lion population toward historical carrying capacity. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Collins, Catherine J. Chilvers, B. Louise Taylor, Matthew Robertson, Bruce C. |
author_facet |
Collins, Catherine J. Chilvers, B. Louise Taylor, Matthew Robertson, Bruce C. |
author_sort |
Collins, Catherine J. |
title |
Historical population size of the threatened New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri |
title_short |
Historical population size of the threatened New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri |
title_full |
Historical population size of the threatened New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri |
title_fullStr |
Historical population size of the threatened New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri |
title_full_unstemmed |
Historical population size of the threatened New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri |
title_sort |
historical population size of the threatened new zealand sea lion phocarctos hookeri |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv187 http://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article-pdf/97/2/436/33346550/gyv187.pdf |
geographic |
New Zealand |
geographic_facet |
New Zealand |
genre |
Auckland Island |
genre_facet |
Auckland Island |
op_source |
Journal of Mammalogy volume 97, issue 2, page 436-443 ISSN 1545-1542 0022-2372 |
op_rights |
https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv187 |
container_title |
Journal of Mammalogy |
container_volume |
97 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
436 |
op_container_end_page |
443 |
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1766364135658881024 |