Population dynamics of southern elephant seals: a synthesis of three decades of demographic research at Marion Island
Southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina numbers declined precipitously throughout most of their circumpolar distribution since the 1950s. A long-term intensive demographic programme was initiated in 1983 on the relatively small population of southern elephant seals at sub-Antarctic Marion Island in...
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ftjafricanj:oai:ojs.ajol.info:article/73227 2023-05-15T13:37:10+02:00 Population dynamics of southern elephant seals: a synthesis of three decades of demographic research at Marion Island Pistorius, PA de Bruyn, PJN Bester, MN 2012-01-27 application/pdf http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/73227 eng eng NISC http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/73227/62162 http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/73227 Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the publisher. African Journal of Marine Science; Vol 33, No 3 (2011) 1814-232X info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed Article 2012 ftjafricanj 2017-03-05T06:36:29Z Southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina numbers declined precipitously throughout most of their circumpolar distribution since the 1950s. A long-term intensive demographic programme was initiated in 1983 on the relatively small population of southern elephant seals at sub-Antarctic Marion Island in an attempt to identify causative mechanisms associated with this decline. Weaned pups have been tagged annually since 1983, and this has produced a large number of individuals of known identity. A regular resighting programme yielded a mark-recapture dataset that has been subjected to numerous survivalbased models. This ongoing programme produced a substantial body of scientific literature on population growth patterns, vital rates (survival and fecundity) and population regulation in southern elephant seals, which are reviewed in this synthesis. We briefly describe the analytical framework common to much of the demographic research, highlight important conclusions concerning population regulation of elephant seals at Marion Island, and discuss priorities for future research. Keywords: environmental change, fecundity, growth, mark-recapture, Mirounga leonina, population regulation, survivalAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2011, 33(3): 523–534 Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Marion Island Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals AJOL - African Journals Online Antarctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
AJOL - African Journals Online |
op_collection_id |
ftjafricanj |
language |
English |
description |
Southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina numbers declined precipitously throughout most of their circumpolar distribution since the 1950s. A long-term intensive demographic programme was initiated in 1983 on the relatively small population of southern elephant seals at sub-Antarctic Marion Island in an attempt to identify causative mechanisms associated with this decline. Weaned pups have been tagged annually since 1983, and this has produced a large number of individuals of known identity. A regular resighting programme yielded a mark-recapture dataset that has been subjected to numerous survivalbased models. This ongoing programme produced a substantial body of scientific literature on population growth patterns, vital rates (survival and fecundity) and population regulation in southern elephant seals, which are reviewed in this synthesis. We briefly describe the analytical framework common to much of the demographic research, highlight important conclusions concerning population regulation of elephant seals at Marion Island, and discuss priorities for future research. Keywords: environmental change, fecundity, growth, mark-recapture, Mirounga leonina, population regulation, survivalAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2011, 33(3): 523–534 |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pistorius, PA de Bruyn, PJN Bester, MN |
spellingShingle |
Pistorius, PA de Bruyn, PJN Bester, MN Population dynamics of southern elephant seals: a synthesis of three decades of demographic research at Marion Island |
author_facet |
Pistorius, PA de Bruyn, PJN Bester, MN |
author_sort |
Pistorius, PA |
title |
Population dynamics of southern elephant seals: a synthesis of three decades of demographic research at Marion Island |
title_short |
Population dynamics of southern elephant seals: a synthesis of three decades of demographic research at Marion Island |
title_full |
Population dynamics of southern elephant seals: a synthesis of three decades of demographic research at Marion Island |
title_fullStr |
Population dynamics of southern elephant seals: a synthesis of three decades of demographic research at Marion Island |
title_full_unstemmed |
Population dynamics of southern elephant seals: a synthesis of three decades of demographic research at Marion Island |
title_sort |
population dynamics of southern elephant seals: a synthesis of three decades of demographic research at marion island |
publisher |
NISC |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/73227 |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Marion Island Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Marion Island Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals |
op_source |
African Journal of Marine Science; Vol 33, No 3 (2011) 1814-232X |
op_relation |
http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/73227/62162 http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/73227 |
op_rights |
Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the publisher. |
_version_ |
1766088769794998272 |