Nitrogen transport from sea to land by a threatened and declining population of Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Trish J. Lavery A B , Ben Roudnew A and James G. Mitchell AA School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: trishlavery@hotmail.com
Australian Mammalogy 37(1) 92-96 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM12029
Submitted: 13 June 2012 Accepted: 3 June 2014 Published: 15 December 2014
Abstract
Australian sea lions consume prey in highly productive foraging grounds and defaecate nutrients on land. The resident population of 1100 Australian sea lions contributes 3800 (±80) kg N year–1 into Seal Bay Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia. If this population were to decline in abundance the nitrogen availability and coastal productivity of Kangaroo Island may be reduced.
Additional keywords: allochthonous nutrients; coastal ecology; landscape ecology; ocean nutrient cycling; tropic dynamics.
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