Occurrence of South American fur seals Arctocephalus australis in San Matías Gulf, Patagonia, Argentina

GUILLERMO MARTÍN SVENDSEN; SILVANA LAURA DANS; RAÚL GONZÁLEZ; G.WILLIAMS; ROMERO, ALEJANDRA; GAGLIARDINI, D.A.; CRESPO ENRIQUE A.

LATIN AMERICAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC RESEARCH

UNIV CATOLICA DE VALPARAISO

Lugar: Valparaíso; Año: 2013 vol. 41 p. 576 - 583

0718-560X

The South American fur seal, Arctocephalus australis (SAFS) populationsuffered a drastic reduction due to commercial exploitationduring the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the last decades a population recovery was detected on 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 migration routes between colonies on the limits 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 thatmore than 1600 SAFSused SMG between May and October (post-reproductive season) and detected a non-reproductive colony on Lobos Islet (41°24´S, 65°03´W).Thepresence of SAFS in SMG may be recent andprobably the same is a consequence of the population expansion. The importance of SMG in the ecology of SAFSseems to lie on three factors: the strategic location of potential migration routes, the physical environment suitable for coastal settlements, and the availability of food resources.