Journal
NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH
Volume 49, Issue 1, Pages 106-118Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/00288330.2014.953184
Keywords
Arctocephalus forsteri; traditional ecological knowledge; abundance; Rakiura; mark-recapture; Bench Island
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Funding
- University of Otago, Zoology Department
- New Zealand Department of Conservation, Stewart Island Office
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We estimated population abundance of New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) pups on Bench Island off Stewart Island, New Zealand seven times between 1996 and 2012. Overall, there was a 29% increase in pup abundance from 1996 to 2012 at the Main Beach colony, corresponding to a mean annual growth rate of 1.6% and a doubling time of approximately 40 years. At the Sprat Point colony, there was an overall increase of 29% between 2003 and 2012 corresponding to a mean annual growth rate of 2.9% and a doubling time of approximately 25 years. The area occupied by both colonies has also increased. In 2006, we surveyed East Beach and counted a total of 201 pups. We obtained traditional ecological knowledge of fur seal distribution and breeding status from local Maori for 46 locations around Stewart Island, 36 of which have not been surveyed since Wilson in 1971-1974; this supports an expansion of fur seal presence and breeding areas in the region in the last 41 years.
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