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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 32(1)

Status of Australian sea lions, Neophoca cinerea, and New Zealand fur seals, Arctocephalus forsteri, on Eyre Peninsula and the far west coast of South Australia

P. D. Shaughnessy A D , T. E. Dennis B and P. G. Seager C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, GPO Box 284, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. Current address: PO Box 515, Henley Beach, SA 5022, Australia.

B 5 Bell Court, Encounter Bay, SA 5211, Australia.

C Department for Environment and Heritage, PO Box 22, Port Lincoln, SA 5606, Australia. Current address: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, PO Box 788, Broken Hill, NSW 2880, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: peter.shaughnessy@csiro.au

Wildlife Research 32(1) 85-101 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR03068
Submitted: 25 July 2003  Accepted: 30 September 2004   Published: 25 February 2005

Abstract

Two seal species breed on the west coast of South Australia, the Australian sea lion, Neophoca cinerea, and the New Zealand fur seal, Arctocephalus forsteri. Aerial surveys were conducted at intervals of ~3 months between April 1995 and June 1997 to determine the breeding status of sea lions and timing of pupping seasons. Ground surveys between October 1994 and April 2004 aimed at counting sea lions and fur seals, particularly pups. In all, 27 sites were examined. Six new sea lion breeding colonies were documented, at Four Hummocks, Price, North Rocky, Dorothee, West Waldegrave and Nicolas Baudin Islands. All were found or confirmed by ground survey. Pup numbers were equivalent to 12% of the total number of pups estimated in surveys conducted from 1987 to 1992, but primarily in 1990. The sighting of brown pups on aerial surveys of Ward Island, Middle and Western Nuyts Reef supports earlier indications, based on dead pups, that they are breeding colonies. The timing of pupping seasons is not synchronous; estimates are presented for colonies between 1995 and early in 2004, with predictions to the end of 2005. The abundance estimates of sea lion pups highlight the importance of visiting a colony early in the pupping season to determine when pupping begins and ~5 months later when the maximum number of pups is expected. For the New Zealand fur seal, small numbers of pups were recorded at Dorothee, West Waldegrave and Nicolas Baudin Islands, and at Nuyts Reef. These and the previously unknown sea lion breeding colonies on the west coast of South Australia suggest that further colonies may remain to be documented. Because planning for aquaculture ventures is active in South Australia, it is important that the localities and status of sea lion and fur seal colonies be established unequivocally to ensure that the need for Prohibited Area status for islands with breeding colonies and for Marine Protected Areas around them is noted.


Acknowledgments

We thank the many colleagues who have assisted us counting seals on the islands or by providing information, especially Albert Zepf, Cathy Zwick, Tom Gerschwitz, Joe Tilley, Ross Allen, Darrell Lawrence, Simon Clark, Dave Armstrong and Joe Stelmann of DEH at Ceduna, Port Lincoln and Venus Bay, Deb Jordan, formerly of South Neptune Island, Alan Payne of Baird Bay, Brad Page of SA Aquatic Sciences Centre, Adelaide and Kristian Peters of La Trobe University, Melbourne. Bob Minnicam of Sceale Bay introduced us to the seals at Nicolas Baudin Island and arranged transport there by several members of the local community, particularly Al Sedunary. Transport to other islands was provided by PIRSA – Fisheries, the Australian Customs Service, by Peter Reeves, Jeff Grocke, Peter Henderson, Johnny Hagemann and Tony Custance of Elliston, Trevor Gilmore of Streaky Bay, Barry Hayden of Port Pirie and Perry Wills of Ceduna. We thank Peter Kies of Barossa Helicopters, Lyndoch, Lloyds Aviation, Adelaide and, in particular, the late John Rogers of Rogers Aviation, Coffin Bay, for supporting the study with their aircraft expertise. For assistance with funding, we thank Environment Australia, Biodiversity Group. We also thank John Ling, Rebecca McIntosh and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments on the manuscript.


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