A New Guadalupe Fur Seal Colony in the Gulf of California? Ecological and Conservation Implications

Elorriaga‐Verplancken, Fernando R.; Paniagua-Mendoza, Aurora; Hernández‐Camacho, Claudia J.; Webber, Marc A.; Cruz-Vallejo, Romyna; Nevels, Corey R.; González-López, Irma

doi:10.1578/am.47.1.2021.1

Cited by 4 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…

…”

mentioning

confidence: 89%

“…The southernmost sightings have come >1,500 km south of Guadalupe Island off the coast of Jalisco and Colima (near Puerto Vallarta; Ortega‐Ortiz et al, 2019). They are also being seen with increasing frequency in Magdalena Bay (Baja California Sur) and in the Gulf of California mostly during the last half of the year when postbreeding migration occurs (Aurioles et al, 1993; Aurioles‐Gamboa et al, 2017; Elorriaga‐Verplancken et al, 2021; Elorriaga‐Verplancken, Rosales‐Nanduca, et al, 2016). The most extralimital sighting of a subadult male (in apparently good body condition) was reported in the Galapagos Archipelago (Páez‐Rosas et al, 2020).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Animas Islet increased to 73 juveniles in February and 57 in March 2020, with >100 in August 2020 (Elorriaga-Verplancken et al, 2021). However, a visit to the islet in October 2020 found no fur seals, suggesting this incipient haul-out may only be used during winter and summer.…”

Section: Total Numbers At Lasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In March 2019, 12 juvenile Guadalupe fur seals were found on Las Ánimas Islet, in the southwest Gulf of California (Figure 1) over 1,000 km south of Guadalupe and San Benitos Islands (Elorriaga‐Verplancken et al, 2021). Total numbers at Las Ánimas Islet increased to 73 juveniles in February and 57 in March 2020, with >100 in August 2020 (Elorriaga‐Verplancken et al, 2021). However, a visit to the islet in October 2020 found no fur seals, suggesting this incipient haul‐out may only be used during winter and summer.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In March 2019, 12 juvenile Guadalupe fur seals were found on Las Animas Islet, in the southwest Gulf of California (Figure 1) over 1,000 km south of Guadalupe and San Benitos Islands (Elorriaga-Verplancken et al, 2021).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

New colony of Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus townsendi) discovered on El Farallón de San Ignacio Island, Gulf of California

Gutiérrez-Osuna¹,

Díaz-Gaxiola

Trites

et al. 2021

Marine Mammal Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus townsendi) have established a second haul-out in the Gulf of California on El Farall on de San Ignacio Island, along the mainland coast of Mexico (Figures 1 and 2). Unlike the smaller, seasonal site first used in 2019-2020 on Las Animas Islet (Figure 1; Elorriaga-Verplancken et al., 2021), Guadalupe fur seals appear to have been using El Farall on since 2014. In 2020 there were 492 fur seals present at El Farall on in January, and 771 in November-the majority of which were juveniles. The discovery of this new haul-out at El Farall on de San Ignacio Island brings the total number of sites where this species of fur seal is known to rest and breed to just four. With only a single breeding colony (rookery) on Guadalupe Island, Guadalupe fur seals remain vulnerable and may require additional protections in the southern Gulf of California to secure their future.Guadalupe fur seals were hunted for their furs and declared extinct in the late 19th century. It was therefore an unexpected surprise when 14 individuals were discovered in 1950 on Guadalupe Island (Hubbs, 1956). Since then, the population has grown and began hauling out at a second location (San Benito Islands) in the late 1990s (Maravilla-Chavez & Lowry, 1999). The San Benito Islands were a former breeding area in the 19th century, and are currently a large and well-established resting colony (haul-out)-with small numbers of births occurring during the annual breeding season (June-August; Gallo-Reynoso, 1994; Figure 1). However, numbers of births have been too few to classify this site as a rookery.

show abstract

“…

…”

mentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Total Numbers At Lasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

New colony of Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus townsendi) discovered on El Farallón de San Ignacio Island, Gulf of California

Gutiérrez-Osuna¹,

Díaz-Gaxiola

Trites

et al. 2021

Marine Mammal Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Guadalupe fur seal pup production predicted from annual variations of sea surface temperature in the southern California Current Ecosystem

Juárez‐Ruiz

Pardo

Hernández-Montoya

et al. 2022

ICES Journal of Marine Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We evaluated the effects of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the southern California Current Ecosystem on the annual Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) pup production, a species recovering from near extinction. Pup counts from 1991 to 1993 and from 2006 to 2019 were used to estimate deviations from a long-term trend as a proxy for the population's reproductive success. We estimated interannual SSTA as a subtraction from the linear trend spanning 1991–2019 for a 778,000 km2 area, which represents the primary foraging range of adult females. The long-term increase in pup production followed an exponential curve ( ${\rm{R}}_{\rm{B}}^2 = {\rm{\ }}1$), typical of species in a recovery phase. Pup production deviations from this trend responded to SSTA during the gestation period as a cubic polynomial function ( ${\rm{R}}_{\rm{B}}^2 = {\rm{\ }}0.837$), revealing that SSTA < −0.2°C and between ∼0.6 and 1.38°C increased pup production in the subsequent breeding season, whereas normal to slightly warm (−0.17 to 0.6°C) and extreme SSTA (>1.4°C) decreased pup counts, arguably resulting from low prey availability and quality. This model allowed us to estimate pup production for years without observations, needed to understand the environmental variability influence on the recovery process of this species, and therefore constitutes a practical tool for its conservation and management.

show abstract

Population assessment and feeding ecology on a new colony of the Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii townsendi) on Farallón de San Ignacio Island, Gulf of California, Mexico

Barba‐Acuña

Gallo‐Reynoso

Guevara-Medina³

et al. 2022

Marine Mammal Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii townsendi) distribution originally encompassed the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Mexico, from the Farallon Islands in California to the Revillagigedo Archipelago (Gallo-Reynoso, 1994;Hoyos-Padilla et al., 2021). They were intensively hunted for their double-layered coat throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, driving them to commercial extinction and producing a reduction in their genetic variability and distribution (Bernardi et al., 1998;Hanna, 1922;Weber et al., 2004). In March 1933 the Mexican government permanently banned the hunting of Guadalupe fur seals and northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) in Mexican waters (Diario Oficial, 1933). Afterward, Guadalupe fur seals were rediscovered in 1954 with the finding of 14 individuals at Guadalupe Island (Hubbs, 1956). Currently, this species is a permanent resident of Guadalupe Island, the only breeding colony known to date, with a population of around 40,000 individuals (García-Aguilar et al., 2018;Hernández-Camacho & Trites, 2018). The San Benito Archipelago, additionally, functions as a resting and foraging colony, with a population of fewer than 4,000 individuals, and few breeding individuals (Elorriaga-Verplancken et al., 2016a;Gallo-Reynoso & Esper on-Rodríguez, 2013).Multiple sightings of solitary Guadalupe fur seals have been recorded over the past three decades at several localities outside their known distribution range.

show abstract

A New Guadalupe Fur Seal Colony in the Gulf of California? Ecological and Conservation Implications

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

New colony of Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus townsendi) discovered on El Farallón de San Ignacio Island, Gulf of California

New colony of Guadalupe fur seals (Arctocephalus townsendi) discovered on El Farallón de San Ignacio Island, Gulf of California

Guadalupe fur seal pup production predicted from annual variations of sea surface temperature in the southern California Current Ecosystem

Population assessment and feeding ecology on a new colony of the Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii townsendi) on Farallón de San Ignacio Island, Gulf of California, Mexico

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About