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The Cape fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus colony at Robberg Peninsula, Plettenberg Bay, on the south-east coast of South Africa, was driven to extinction by indiscriminate harvesting by the late 1800s. Seals only began to recolonise this site in the 1990s. This study describes the recolonisation process from 2000 to 2009, exploring both within-and between-year count data of seals using the site. Counts increased over the study period from <300 animals to >3 100. Generalised linear models indicated the importance of year and month in explaining variability in the counts. Withinyear variability in the counts decreased over the study period, which may be related to an increasing proportion of resident (as opposed to transient) seals in the colony. However, the colony is currently still in a transition phase with a low ratio of breeding to non-breeding animals, based on the low numbers of pups born in the colony (currently still <100 per year). The influx of seals to the Robberg area may be associated with shifts in prey availability at the ecosystem level. The colony benefits from the protection afforded by the reserve status of the Robberg Peninsula and the existence of a marine protected area adjacent to it. However, human interference associated with fishing and/or ecotourism on the peninsula may inhibit development into a substantial breeding colony. Potential interventions for the conservation and management of this colony are discussed.
The Cape fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus colony at Robberg Peninsula, Plettenberg Bay, on the south-east coast of South Africa, was driven to extinction by indiscriminate harvesting by the late 1800s. Seals only began to recolonise this site in the 1990s. This study describes the recolonisation process from 2000 to 2009, exploring both within-and between-year count data of seals using the site. Counts increased over the study period from <300 animals to >3 100. Generalised linear models indicated the importance of year and month in explaining variability in the counts. Withinyear variability in the counts decreased over the study period, which may be related to an increasing proportion of resident (as opposed to transient) seals in the colony. However, the colony is currently still in a transition phase with a low ratio of breeding to non-breeding animals, based on the low numbers of pups born in the colony (currently still <100 per year). The influx of seals to the Robberg area may be associated with shifts in prey availability at the ecosystem level. The colony benefits from the protection afforded by the reserve status of the Robberg Peninsula and the existence of a marine protected area adjacent to it. However, human interference associated with fishing and/or ecotourism on the peninsula may inhibit development into a substantial breeding colony. Potential interventions for the conservation and management of this colony are discussed.
Through predation and displacement, the Cape fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus poses a threat to several seabird species that breed in southern Africa. Measures such as the culling of 'problem' seals have been introduced to negate the effects on these species, but there have been calls for stronger measures to be taken against seals. In this review, past evidence for direct impacts of seals on seabird populations was scrutinised. It was found that frequently the interpretation of seabird numer ical trends, or of anecdotes on seal-seabird interactions, appear biased against seals. It is mooted that, as with seal-fishery interactions, the conspicuous nature of seals and some of their behaviour may have resulted in their effects on seabird colonies or populations being over-emphasised in the past. The poor conservation status of the impacted seabird species has been influenced by numerous factors, foremost of which are human interference and historical bad management practices. Culling or displacing of seals, at any scale, are unlikely to reverse trends in declining populations of seabirds, especially if conducted in isolation of other management actions, such as measures to enhance or expand the breeding habitat of seabirds. (90 ha) islands (see Figure 1) (Rand 1963a(Rand , 1963b. Whereas seal and seabird colonies co-existed on many of the islands three to four centuries ago, at the time when Europeans began to make their mark in the region (Shaughnessy 1984), the physical characteristics and faunal composition of many of the islands have altered radically since then. Between the 17th and the early 20th centuries, seals were hunted to extinction at many of the larger islands, including the aforementioned three and at least 20 other islands (Shaughnessy 1982). Many of these sites were subsequently manned on a year-round basis and managed for the production of seabird products such as guano and eggs, to the exclusion of seals. Hence, it became customary to refer to 'seal islands' and 'seabird islands' (or 'guano islands') exclusively. Seal islands included mainly small islands of 2 ha or less in area, which were inaccessible or
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