Recovery of South American fur seals from Fuegian Archipelago (Argentina)

The aim of the present study is to estimate the abundance and trend of SAFS in the Fuegian archipelago and analyze anddescribe changes in the social composition and spatial distribution of colonies through time (1997?2012).In conclusion, SAFS from the Fuegian archipelago are recovering. This process includes the establishment of new colonies, and the change of the social structure of others. The high rates of increase estimated are possibly due to a combination of immigration and intrinsic population growth. Therefore, considering that the changes observed in the colonies shows that the fur seals are going through a recolonization process, it is essential to keep monitoring the species and its population trend. The results of the present study and future counts will contribute in this effort, providing data for SAFS in the Fuegian archipelago to evaluate future modifications of the abundance and structure of the colonies at the southern limit of its distribution. Not only is such long-term monitoring of value for the conservation and management of this species, but marine mammal population trend can serve as indicators of the general health of an ecosystem (Moore, 2008, 2018).Fil: Milano, Viviana Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco"; ArgentinaFil: Grandi, Maria Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Schiavini, Adrian Carlos Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego; ArgentinaFil: Crespo, Enrique Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentin