Postharvesting population dynamics of the South American sea lion (Otaria byronia) in the southwestern Atlantic

VALENTINA FRANCO-TRECU; MASSIMILIANO DRAGO; CLAUDIA BALADAN; MATEO GARCIA-OLAZABAL; ENRIQUE A. CRESPO; LUIS CARDONA; PABLO INCHAUSTI

MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2015

0824-0469

Many pinniped populations precipitously declined during the 19th and 20th centu- ries due to overharvesting. In Uruguay, the South American sea lion (SASL) was har- vested until 1986. Birth rates in two nearby breeding colonies have had opposite trends for at least 20 yr. We assessed different mechanisms that could explain opposite trends in birth rates in the two SASL colonies. We compared feeding habits (d15N and d13C) of breeding females, birth mass, individual growth rate and early survival of pups and the social structure between colonies. Breeding females from the two colonies did not differ in their feeding habits. However, male and female pups grew faster but had a lower survival in the second month in the smallest colony. We found differences in the social structures, with a higher proportion of males in the smallest colony. The latter is important because peripheral SASL males may abduct and kill pups, which may explain the lower survival of pups in smaller colonies. We believe that the cumulative effects of population extractions have lowered the local SASL population size and disrupted its social structure to the point where Allee-like effects could become important and hamper the recovery of the Uruguayan SASL population.