Harbour seal movements and haul-out patterns:implications for monitoring and management

• Published in: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
• Main Authors: Cunningham, Louise, Baxter, John M., Boyd, Ian Lamont, Duck, Callan D., Lonergan, Mike, Moss, Simon E., McConnell, Bernie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Phoca vitulina; harbour seal; Scotland; SRDLs; site-fidelity; conservation; protected areas; satellite telemetry; critical habitat; PHOCA-VITULINA-RICHARDSI; PRINCE-WILLIAM-SOUND; COMMON SEALS; MORAY FIRTH; GRAY SEALS; NORTHEAST SCOTLAND; HALICHOERUS-GRYPUS; FORAGING ACTIVITY; BREEDING-SEASON; POPULATION-SIZE
• Online Access: https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/harbour-seal-movements-and-haulout-patterns(50222ef4-d3ca-4a9c-a0c1-643a137297dc).html; https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.983; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67650105293&partnerID=8YFLogxK

1. Compliance with conservation legislation requires knowledge on the behaviour, abundance and distribution of protected species. Seal life history is characterized by a combination of marine foraging and a requirement to haul out on a solid substrate for reproduction and moulting. Thus understanding the use of haul out sites, where seals are Counted, its well as their at-sea movements is crucial for designing effective monitoring and management plans. 2. This study used satellite transmitters deployed on 24 harbour seals in western Scotland to examine movements and haul-out patterns. 3. The proportion of time harbour seals spent hauled Out (daily means of between 11 and 27%) varied spatially, temporally and according to sex. The mean haul-out duration was 5 h, with a maximum of over 24 h. 4. Patterns of movement were observed at two geographical scales; while some seals travelled over 100 km, 50% of trips were within 25 km of a haul-out site. These patterns are important for the identification of a marine component to designated protected areas for the species. 5. On average seals returned to the haul-out. sites they last used during 40% of trips, indicating a degree of site fidelity, though there was wide variation between different haul-out sites (range 0% to > 75%). 6. Low fidelity haul-out sites could form a network of land-based protected areas, while high fidelity sites might form appropriate management units. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.