INVESTIGADORES
DANS silvana Laura
artículos
Título:
Occurrence of South American fur seals Arctocephalus australis(Zimmermann 1783) in San Matías Gulf, Patagonia, Argentina.
Autor/es:
SVENDSEN, GUILLERMO MARTIN; DANS, SILVANA LAURA; GONZÁLEZ, RAÚL ALBERTO; ROMERO, MARIA ALEJANDRA; CRESPO, ENRIQUE ALBERTO
Revista:
LATIN AMERICAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC RESEARCH
Editorial:
UNIV CATOLICA DE VALPARAISO
Referencias:
Lugar: Valparaíso; Año: 2013 vol. 41 p. 576 - 583
ISSN:
0718-560X
Resumen:
The South American fur seal, Arctocephalus australis (SAFS) population suffered a drastic
reduction due to commercial exploitation during the XVIII and XIX centuries. In the last decades a population
recovery was detected in the Atlantic region. However, in this region, many aspects of the ecology of the
SAFS, such as the post-reproductive dispersal of individuals, the location of feeding areas, and the movements
of individuals between colonies on the boundaries of its distribution, are still unknown. Here, we report for the
first time the occupation of San Matías Gulf (SMG, northern Patagonia, Argentina) by this species. We found
that more than 1,600 SAFS used SMG between May and October (post-reproductive season) and detected a
non-reproductive colony on Islote Lobos (41°24´S, 65°03´W). The presence of SAFS in SMG is recent and
would be associated with an increase of the population on the Atlantic. The importance of SMG in the ecology
of SAFS seems to lie on three factors: the strategic location in the geographic context of potential movements
of individuals between distant colonies, the physical environment suitable for coastal settlements, and the
availability of food resources.