Is recolonization pattern related to female philopatry? An insight into a colonially breeding mammal

On sightings of (vagrant?) monk seals, Monachus monachus, in the Mediterranean Basin and their importance for the conservation of the species

“…Examples of recovery and recolonization of former habitat by pinniped species are widely acknowledged (Bonin et al, ; Cammen et al, ; Grandi et al, ; Hoelzel, Fleischer, Campagna, Le Boeuf, & Alvord, ; Kirkwood, Warneke, & Arnould, ; MacMillan et al, ; Pyle, Long, Shonewald, Jones, & Roletto, ; Reijnders, van Dijk, & Kuiper, ). In addition, temporary migration and the occurrence of transient or visitor animals may have important implications for conservation of the populations and groups of many endangered marine mammals ranging across borders of different countries (Bearzi, Bonizzoni, & Gonzalvo, ; Genov et al, ; Stern, ).…”

Variation in trophic resources in female South American sea lions at a small geographic scale

“…The study was conducted in 10 colonies of SASL during the 2013 breeding season, in northern Patagonia, Argentina (roughly between 41° and 43°S; Figure 1, Table 1). With the purpose of illustrating the small scale of the study, geographical distance among colonies was calculated as the minimum distance (kilometers) required for a sea lion swimming from the midpoint of one colony to the midpoint of all others (Grandi et al, 2008, 2018). As a result, geographical distances between colonies range from 1.24 to 250.17 km with a mean and standard deviation of 92.58 ± 72.09 km, whereas distances between colonies from north and south zones ranged from 96.51 to 250.17 km, with a mean and standard deviation of 175.82 ± 48.48 km (Table 2).…”

“…Skin samples were taken from the trailing edge of the hind flippers and were stored in 20% dimethyl sulfoxide saturated with salt and kept at −20°C (Amos & Hoelzel, 1991). These samples were first used for genetic analysis (Grandi et al, 2018), and then used for isotope analysis.…”

“…Particularly in northern Patagonia (Argentina), SASL colonies are spatially clustered (Grandi, Dans, & Crespo, 2008, 2015). This pattern of distribution of colonies could be the consequence of a complex recolonization process involving dispersal, philopatry, available terrestrial suitable habitat, closeness to high productivity areas, site fidelity to feeding grounds, and breeding success (Grandi et al, 2008, 2018).…”

“…On a smaller scale (i.e., SASL colonies distributed over ~250 km in northern Patagonia), the level of female philopatry and consequently genetic population structure is weak. However, some level of spatial genetic differentiation seems to exist between colonies from north and south zones (Figure 1; Grandi et al, 2018). At this spatial scale (i.e., north and south zones of northern Patagonia), habitats differ greatly in their physiography, oceanography, and prey availability (Jarma et al, 2019, and references therein).…”