Seal monitoring and evaluation for the Gemini offshore windfarm: Tconstruction - 2015 report

Brasseur, S.M.J.M.; Ecosystemen, Imares; Kirkwood, Roger; Aarts, Geert; Onderzoeksformatie, Imares

doi:10.18174/431831

Cited by 10 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Between-colonies spatial segregation has recently been suggested to emerge from direct visual, olfactory or vocal interactions between individuals or group of individuals (Carpenter 1987;Grémillet et al 2004;Wakefield et al 2013). For many inconspicuous central-place foraging species, like harbor seals (Fig 1, (Kirkwood et al 2015;Brasseur et al 2018;Aarts et al 2019)), this seems unlikely, and the minimum requirements at the level of individual cognition that are necessary for colony segregation to emerge remain unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual-Level Memory Is Sufficient to Create Spatial Segregation among Neighboring Colonies of Central Place Foragers

Aarts

Mul

Fieberg

et al. 2021

The American Naturalist

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual-Level Memory Is Sufficient to Create Spatial Segregation among Neighboring Colonies of Central Place Foragers

Aarts

Mul

Fieberg

et al. 2021

The American Naturalist

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“…As such, more pups could be born in the preferred breeding areas than can be expected from the seal distribution outside the breeding season. This breeding migration towards the German Wadden Sea has been observed from the Netherlands on several occasions ([ 72 – 74 ]; Fig 7 ). Some indication for this behaviour can also be found in the recovery of Schleswig-Holstein after the first PDV epidemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Echoes from the past: Regional variations in recovery within a harbour seal population

et al. 2018

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Terrestrial and marine wildlife populations have been severely reduced by hunting, fishing and habitat destruction, especially in the last centuries. Although management regulations have led to the recovery of some populations, the underlying processes are not always well understood. This study uses a 40-year time series of counts of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Wadden Sea to study these processes, and demonstrates the influence of historical regional differences in management regimes on the recovery of this population. While the Wadden Sea is considered one ecologically coupled zone, with a distinct harbour seal population, the area is divided into four geo-political regions i.e. the Netherlands, Lower Saxony including Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark. Gradually, seal hunting was banned between 1962 and 1977 in the different regions. Counts of moulting harbour seals and pup counts, obtained during aerial surveys between 1974 and 2014, show a population growth from approximately 4500 to 39,000 individuals. Population growth models were developed to assess if population growth differed between regions, taking into account two Phocine Distemper Virus (PDV) epizootics, in 1988 and 2002 which seriously affected the population. After a slow start prior to the first epizootic, the overall population grew exponentially at rates close to assumed maximum rates of increase in a harbour seal population. Recently, growth slowed down, potentially indicative of approaching carrying capacity. Regional differences in growth rates were demonstrated, with the highest recovery in Netherlands after the first PDV epizootic (i.e. 17.9%), suggesting that growth was fuelled by migration from the other regions, where growth remained at or below the intrinsic growth rate (13%). The seals’ distribution changed, and although the proportion of seals counted in the German regions declined, they remained by far the most important pupping region, with approximately 70% of all pups being born there. It is hypothesised that differences in hunting regime, preceding the protection in the 1960’s and 1970’s, created unbalance in the distribution of breeding females throughout the Wadden Sea, which prevailed for decades. Breeding site fidelity promoted the growth in pup numbers at less affected breeding sites, while recolonisation of new breeding areas would be suppressed by the philopatry displayed by the animals born there. This study shows that for long-lived species, variable management regimes in this case hunting regulations, across a species’ range can drive population dynamics for several generations.

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“…Generally, the seals were inshore of the pile-driving events (i.e. in shallower waters), which was also the case during the pre-construct phase (Brasseur & Kirkwood 2015).…”

Section: Overlap Between Seals and Pile-drivingmentioning

confidence: 87%

Behavioural response of grey seals to pile-driving

Aarts¹,

Brasseur²,

Kirkwood³

2018

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Seal monitoring and evaluation for the Gemini offshore windfarm: Tconstruction - 2015 report

Cited by 10 publications

References 7 publications

Individual-Level Memory Is Sufficient to Create Spatial Segregation among Neighboring Colonies of Central Place Foragers

Individual-Level Memory Is Sufficient to Create Spatial Segregation among Neighboring Colonies of Central Place Foragers

Echoes from the past: Regional variations in recovery within a harbour seal population

Behavioural response of grey seals to pile-driving

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