Antarctic Fur Seal pup weight at Maiviken, South Georgia, from 2009 to 2020

• Main Authors: Hollyman, Philip, Trathan, Philip, Collins, Martin
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre 2021
• Subjects: "EARTH SCIENCE","BIOSPHERE","ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS","COMMUNITY DYNAMICS","INDICATOR SPECIES"; "EARTH SCIENCE","BIOSPHERE","ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS","SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS","SPECIES LIFE HISTORY"; "EARTH SCIENCE","BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION","ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES","MAMMALS","CARNIVORES","SEALS/SEA LIONS/WALRUSES"; Antarctic Fur seal; Arctocephalus gazella; Bird Island; Pup weight; Antarctic; Sandwich Islands; South Sandwich Islands; South Georgia; Maiviken; Antarc*; Antarctic Fur Seal; British Antarctic Survey; walrus*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5285/bc6d802a-fce5-495d-b5e1-bb26f824847c; https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01184

Since 2009, the weights of male and female Antarctic Fur Seal pups from the Maiviken area on South Georgia have been monitored. 100 pups are randomly sampled from two areas, tussock and beach, at the start of January, February and March. This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey : 50 seal pups on the beach at Maiviken and 50 from the tussock area behind the beach are weighed using a pesola and bag in January, February and March each year. The January weighing is done one month after the Peak Pupping date at the Seal Study Beach (SSB) on Bird Island and the February and March weighings 1 and 2 months after this respectively. Pups are sexed and assigned a moult score where 0 = No moult, 1 = Partial moult (usually head and a bit of the back), 2 = Advanced moult (At least 50% of body), 3 = Completely moulted. A pup is marked using temporary spray paint after it has been weighed to prevent it being reweighed during the same weighing event. All data were collected under permit from the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. All diet sampling procedures used were regulated by the British Antarctic Survey Ethical Review Committee in collaboration with Cambridge University and the UK Home Office.