Status of small colonies of the Australian sea lionNeophoca cinereaon Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Abstract

The status of the Australian sea lion Neophoca cinerea at eight sites on Kangaroo Island was assessed using criteria adopted by the National Seal Strategy Group based on numbers of pups counted between 1985 and 2005. Each site was allocated to one of three categories. At the Seal Slide, 1 to 11 pups were born over nine pupping seasons and it is classed as a breeding colony. At four sites (Black Point, Cave Point, Cape Bouguer and North Casuarina Island), small numbers of pups were recorded over two or more seasons, and each is classed as a haul-out site with occasional pupping. At three sites near Cape Bouguer, pups were recorded but each instance was several months after a pupping season began at the large breeding colony at Seal Bay, and pups born there are known to move to other sites. Therefore each of these three is classed as a haul-out site. Because N. cinerea is susceptible to mortality from fishery interactions, is strongly philopatric and that small colonies are especially susceptible to extinct...