Title: AERIAL SURVEYS OF WEDDELL SEALS DURING 2007-08, WITH NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF AERIAL CENSUSES IN THE ROSS SEA AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONTINUED COUNT EFFORT

• Main Author: Language English
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AS RELATED TO NOMINATED AGENDA ITEMS; Antarctic; Erebus Bay; McMurdo Sound; Ross Sea; Victoria Land; Weddell; Antarc*; Antarctic Toothfish; Weddell Seals
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.538.1426; http://penguinscience.com/reprints/ross_sea/Ross_Sea_monitoring_program2.pdf

Published or accepted for publication elsewhere? No Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) have proved to be an important predator of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni), and currently there is no ecosystem monitoring program (CEMP) in place under CCAMLR with respect to the Ross Sea toothfish fishery. In a previous paper submitted to EMM in 2007 (WG-EMM 07/13), we described procedures whereby aerial photography could be used to monitor Weddell seals along the Victoria Land coast. That area would be important to monitor changes in distribution and abundance, as seals from all the colonies along that coast likely forage in CCAMLR SSRUs 88.1H and 88.1J (WG-EMM 06/29). Herein, we compare air with ground counts made in Erebus Bay, McMurdo Sound, in November 2007, and summarize historical results of aerial surveys made along the coast of Victoria Land. The high correspondence between air and ground counts shows that aerial photography can successfully be used to document changes in distribution and abundance of Weddell seals. Ground counts of Erebus Bay colonies made annually, 1974-2007, demonstrate