Increase of sub-Antarctic fur seals at the Tristan da Cunha Islands
Sub-Antarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus tropicalis, pups were counted on some of the beaches on all four Tristan da Cunha (TdC) islands, in January 2017, to determine the status of the population, in the face of climate change that is magnified in polar regions. Compared to counts done 40 years earlie...
| Published in: | Polar Biology |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/68327 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2406-2 |
| Summary: | Sub-Antarctic fur seal, Arctocephalus tropicalis, pups were counted on some of the beaches on all four Tristan da Cunha (TdC) islands, in January 2017, to determine the status of the population, in the face of climate change that is magnified in polar regions. Compared to counts done 40 years earlier on Gough, the breeding population increased markedly on some beaches, although negligibly on the largely open boulder beaches on the leeward northeastern sector of the island. Similarly, on the northern group of the TdC islands, the breeding population had increased markedly (including the very first pup counts at Inaccessible and Nightingale), despite fur seal females currently selecting only certain beaches for pupping (at Inaccessible and Tristan). At Tristan da Cunha, only one small breeding colony occurs which is remote from the human settlement, probably the result of anthropogenic disturbance. http://link.springer.com/journal/300 2020-01-01 hj2019 Mammal Research Institute Zoology and Entomology |
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