ARTICLE Annual, seasonal and daily variation in the abundance of the South American sea lion Otaria flavescens in two breeding colonies in northern ChileVariaciones anuales, estacionales y diarias en la abundancia del lobo marino común Otaria flavescens en dos colonias reproductivas del norte de Chile Resumen.-Los estudios de variaciones de abundancia de las poblaciones a distintas escalas temporales permi ten comprender cómo dichas poblaciones fluctúan en el tiempo y cuáles son los factores que influyen sobre dichas variaciones. Se analizaron los patrones de abundancia del lobo marino común (SASL, Otaria flavescens) a escalas diaria, mensual y anual en 2 loberas reproductivas del norte de Chile. Adicionalmente, se evaluó el efecto de El Niño sobre los patrones anuales de la especie. La abundancia de lobos marinos en Punta Negra (PN) disminuyó desde 1994 a 2011, mientras que en Punta Patache (PP) aumentó, aunque el número de crías fue proporcionalmente bajo. Los resultados demuestran un efecto importante de El Niño sobre la abundancia de lobos marinos, especialmente para hembras + juveniles en PN. La abundancia mensual de hembras y juveniles fue mayor en invierno, mientras que para machos adultos y subadultos no se encontró ningún patrón. Finalmente, durante el día la abundancia incrementa hasta llegar a un máximo hacia fines de la tarde, especialmente en el caso de hembras y juveniles. No se encontraron diferencias en los patrones de abundancia entre las épocas reproductiva y no reproductiva para ninguna de las clases de sexo/edad. Este estudio muestra que la abundancia en PP y PN muestra peri odicidades anuales, mensual es y diarias, y que dichas periodicidad es están condicionadas tanto por factores intrínsecos (e.g., época reproductiva) como extrínsecos (e.g., hora del día, El Niño). A escala anual, los resultados indican que aún a una escala local, las tendencias de abundancia en 2 c olonias pueden ser diferentes. Maritza Palabras clave: Circaritmos, actividad en tierra, Otaria byroniaAbstract.-Studies on population abundance variations at different temporal scales contribute to the understanding on how these populations change over time and what are the factors influencing those variations. We analyzed daily, monthly and annual haul-out abundance patterns of South American sea lions (SASL, Otaria flavescens) in 2 breeding colonies of the north of Chile. Additionally we analyzed the effect of El Niño events on the sea lions' annual patterns. The abundance of sea lions in Punta Negra (PN) decreased from 1994 to 2011, whereas in Punta Patache (PP) increased, although the number of pups was proportionately low. Our results indicated a strong effect of El Niño over the abundance of sea lions, especially for females + juveniles in PN. The haul-out monthly abundance of females and juveniles increased during austral winter months, whereas adult and subadult males did not show a clear pattern. Finally, the haul-out abundance tended to increase throughout the day reaching a maximum by late afternoon, especially for ...
Local productivity is essentially important for colonial species, such as seabirds and otariids (fur seals and sea lions). These species are central place foragers and income breeders that combine foraging ABSTRACT: In otariids, the condition and growth of offspring are linked to prey availability be cause females show a strong dependence on local food availability. Thus, it is expected that body condition of sea lion pups will vary spatially and/or temporally as a response to variations in the abundance of prey species on which females feed. The objective of this study was to analyze the geographic and temporal variation in the body condition of South American sea lion Otaria flavescens pups in Chile, and to relate it to spatio-temporal variations in prey availability. We captured 340 live pups in 2 distant colonies, Punta Patache/Punta Negra and Cobquecura, along the Chilean coast during consecutive breeding seasons. A morphometric index of pup body condition was estimated by comparing pups in all years using least-squares linear regression of the log 10 -transformed measurements of standard length vs. body mass. We analyzed the relationship between this index and estimates of fish biomass (as a proxy of prey availability) at each locality. We found that body condition was significantly different between years and between colonies, suggesting that animals of the central-south area were in better condition than those in the north. A positive relationship between body condition and fish biomass was found, suggesting that differences in body condition may be explained by spatial and temporal differences in prey availability.
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