Abstract
Abstract A sample of 834 female New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri), which were aged and measured, was obtained between 1998 and 2001. In addition, the reproductive histories of 505 marked females from the Auckland Islands were recorded from 1998 to 2005. These data sets were used to investigate growth and reproductive rates. Length and weight ranged from 134 to 197 cm and 49 to 156 kg, respectively. A Gompertz growth model best described growth and predicted that females attained 90% of asymptotic length (161.7 cm) and weight (112.0) at ages 4 and 11 years, respectively. No significant differences were found in growth rates among years, nor between the 2 major breeding colonies in the Auckland Islands. Females reproduced between the ages of 3 and 26 years, with evidence of reproductive senescence starting at age 23 years. Although females up to age 28 years were observed, no females over 26 years were recorded as reproductive. Age-specific reproductive rate p(x) increased rapidly between ages 3 an...
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