Dispersion of long-nosed fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) determined by tagging
Peter D. Shaughnessy
A B D and Simon D. Goldsworthy C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A CSIRO Wildlife and Ecology, GPO Box 284, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
B Present address: South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
C Aquatic Sciences Centre, South Australian Research and Development Institute, West Beach, SA 5024, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: peter.shaughnessy@samuseum.sa.gov.au
Australian Journal of Zoology 67(3) 173-179 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20032
Submitted: 5 May 2020 Accepted: 14 July 2020 Published: 31 July 2020
Abstract
Long-nosed fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) were tagged as pups in colonies on Kangaroo Island, South Australia in eight consecutive pupping seasons from 1988–89 to 1995–96. Thirty-nine tagged animals were sighted on the southern Australian coast, being 0.89% of those tagged. They were aged from 9 months to 14 years 6 months, with half in their second and third years. Most records (88%) were of animals that moved eastwards. The most distant records were from Sydney in the east (1700 km), south of Tasmania in the south (1240 km) and Head of Bight in the west (700 km). One animal was seen twice, both times on the north coast of Kangaroo Island, once underwater and two years later ashore. Satellite telemetry studies of juvenile A. forsteri from Kangaroo Island showed that they typically forage in pelagic waters ~1000 km further south in association with the subtropical front. The study reported here shows that some animals tagged as pups disperse widely as juveniles around the southern Australian coast. The possibility of genetic interchange between breeding colonies is suggested by sightings of three tagged females aged 4 years and older at non-natal colonies.
Additional keywords: flipper tags, Kangaroo Island, movements, New Zealand fur seals, southern Australia, tagged pups.
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