Establishing tourism guidelines for viewing Australian Sea Lions Neophoca cinerea at Seal Bay Conservation Park, South Australia

Australian sea lions consume prey in highly productive foraging grounds and defaecate nutrients on land. The resident population of 1100 Australian sea lions contributes 3800 (±80) kg N year–1 into Seal Bay Conservation Park, Kangaroo Island, South Australia. If this population were to decline in abundance the nitrogen availability and coastal productivity of Kangaroo Island may be reduced.

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Australian fur seals establish haulout sites and a breeding colony in South Australia

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo10017 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 58 (2) ◽

pp. 94 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Peter D. Shaughnessy ◽

Jane McKenzie ◽

Melanie L. Lancaster ◽

Simon D. Goldsworthy ◽

Terry E. Dennis

Keyword(s):

Mitochondrial Dna ◽

New Zealand ◽

South Australia ◽

Breeding Colony ◽

Mitochondrial Dna Control Region ◽

Sea Lions ◽

Neophoca Cinerea ◽

Fur Seals ◽

Fur Seal ◽

New Zealand Fur Seal

Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) breed on Bass Strait islands in Victoria and Tasmania. They have been recorded in South Australia (SA) for many years as non-breeding visitors and on Kangaroo Island frequently since 1988, mostly in breeding colonies of the New Zealand fur seal (A. forsteri) which is the most numerous pinniped in SA. Australian fur seals have displaced New Zealand fur seals from sections of the Cape Gantheaume colony on Kangaroo Island. North Casuarina Island produced 29 Australian fur seal pups in February 2008. Australian fur seal pups were larger than New Zealand fur seal pups in the same colony and have been identified genetically using a 263-bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA control region. North Casuarina Island has been an important breeding colony of New Zealand fur seals, but pup numbers there decreased since 1992–93 (contrary to trends in SA for New Zealand fur seals), while numbers of Australian fur seals there have increased. This study confirms that Australian fur seals breed in SA. The two fur seal species compete for space onshore at several sites. Australian fur seals may compete for food with endangered Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) because both are bottom feeders.

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Dietary analysis of regurgitates and stomach samples from free-living Australian sea lions

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr06025 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 33 (8) ◽

pp. 661 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Rebecca R. McIntosh ◽

Brad Page ◽

Simon D. Goldsworthy

Keyword(s):

Prey Species ◽

South Australia ◽

Rock Lobster ◽

Sea Lion ◽

Free Living ◽

Dietary Analysis ◽

Sea Lions ◽

Neophoca Cinerea ◽

Australian Sea Lion ◽

Sepia Apama

Dietary remains recovered from Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) digestive tracts and regurgitate samples from Seal Bay (Kangaroo Island, South Australia) were used to identify prey species consumed. Four of eight digestive tracts collected (50%) contained prey items located only in the stomach. On the basis of biomass reconstruction of cephalopod prey remains, octopus contributed 40% of the biomass in the samples, giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama) contributed 30% and ommastrephid squids contributed 14% biomass. The remains of several fish species were found in the samples: leatherjacket (Monocanthidae), flathead (Platycephalus sp.), swallowtail (Centroberyx lineatus), common bullseye (Pempheris multiradiata), southern school whiting (Sillago flindersi) and yellowtail mackerel (Trachurus novaezelandiae). Southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) and swimming crab (Ovalipes australiensis) carapace fragments, little penguin (Eudyptula minor) feathers and bones and shark egg cases (oviparous species and Scyliorhinidae sp.) were also identified.

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Assessing the use of milk fatty acids to infer the diet of the Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr08046 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 169 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

A. M. M. Baylis ◽

D. J. Hamer ◽

P. D. Nichols

Keyword(s):

South Australia ◽

Satellite Tracking ◽

Sea Lion ◽

Milk Fatty Acids ◽

Sea Lions ◽

Neophoca Cinerea ◽

Australian Sea Lion ◽

Fa Composition ◽

Pinniped Species ◽

Management Plans

Information on the diet of threatened species is important in devising appropriate management plans to ensure their conservation. The Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) is Australia’s only endemic and globally one of the least numerous pinniped species. However, dietary information is currently limited because of the difficulty in using traditional methods (identification of prey hard parts from scats, regurgitates and stomach samples) to reliably provide dietary information. The present study assessed the use of fatty acid (FA) analysis to infer diet using milk samples collected from 11 satellite tracked Australian sea lions from Olive Island, South Australia. Satellite tracking revealed that females foraged in two distinct regions; ‘inshore’ regions characterised by shallow bathymetry (10.7 ± 4.8 m) and ‘offshore’ regions characterised by comparatively deep bathymetry (60.5 ± 13.4 m). Milk FA analysis indicated significant differences in the FA composition between females that foraged inshore compared with those that foraged offshore. The greatest differences in relative levels of individual FAs between the inshore and offshore groups were for 22 : 6n-3 (6.5 ± 1.2% compared with 16.5 ± 1.9% respectively), 20 : 4n-6 (6.1 ± 0.7 compared with 2.5 ± 0.7 respectively) and 22 : 4n-6 (2.4 ± 0.2% compared with 0.8 ± 0.2% respectively). Using discriminant scores, crustacean, cephalopod, fish and shark-dominated diets were differentiated. The discriminant scores from Australian sea lions that foraged inshore indicated a mixed fish and shark diet, whereas discriminant scores from Australian sea lions that foraged offshore indicated a fish-dominated diet, although results must be interpreted with caution due to the assumptions associated with the prey FA dataset. FA analysis in combination with satellite tracking proved to be a powerful tool for assessing broad-scale spatial dietary patterns.

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Breeding and longevity in captive Australian sea lions Neophoca cinerea at zoos and aquaria in Australia: 1965-2003.

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am06008 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 65 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

J. K. Ling ◽

C. Atkin ◽

A. Barnes ◽

A. Fischer ◽

M. Guy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New South ◽

South Australia ◽

Embryonic Diapause ◽

Birth Intervals ◽

Sea Lions ◽

Neophoca Cinerea ◽

South Wales ◽

In Captivity ◽

In The Wild ◽

The Mean

Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) are known to have been kept in aquaria and zoos in Australia since 1965. During that time at least 41 births were recorded, of which 19 were in Adelaide, 15 at Adelaide Zoo and 4 at Marineland of South Australia. The mean interval between successive births in Adelaide was 538.9 � 9.5 days (18.0 months; n = 10) and the mean assumed pregnancy period, including embryonic diapause, was 536.0 � 11.4 days (17.9 months; n = 9). The mean interval between parturition and presumed successful mating was 8.4 � 1.6 days (n = 5). Births occurred in all months except January, June, August and December. Figures for New South Wales and Queensland establishments are too small and scattered over time for any pregnancy periods or birth intervals to be determined. Likewise, latitudinal differences, if any, were not evident, because of the paucity of data from these more northerly places. One female at the Adelaide Zoo produced 8 pups between 1986 and 1997; she is still alive after 22 years in captivity. The youngest known-age (captive-born) female was 4 years, 8 months old when she gave birth to her first pup; and the oldest female in captivity to give birth to a pup was aged approximately 21 years, 8 months. The longest recorded captive period for a female was more than 25 years by 31 December 2003, and for a male it was 21 years, 11 months. A captive-bred female was still alive after 18 years, 2 months, 24 days; another such female died aged 18 years, 2 months, 18 days. These life spans appear to be similar to those that meagre data suggest for tagged N. cinerea in the wild.

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Status of Australian sea lions, Neophoca cinerea, and New Zealand fur seals, Arctocephalus forsteri, on Eyre Peninsula and the far west coast of South Australia

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr03068 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 85 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

P. D. Shaughnessy ◽

T. E. Dennis ◽

P. G. Seager

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

West Coast ◽

South Australia ◽

Sea Lion ◽

The West ◽

Sea Lions ◽

Neophoca Cinerea ◽

Fur Seals ◽

Fur Seal ◽

New Zealand Fur Seal

Two seal species breed on the west coast of South Australia, the Australian sea lion, Neophoca cinerea, and the New Zealand fur seal, Arctocephalus forsteri. Aerial surveys were conducted at intervals of ~3 months between April 1995 and June 1997 to determine the breeding status of sea lions and timing of pupping seasons. Ground surveys between October 1994 and April 2004 aimed at counting sea lions and fur seals, particularly pups. In all, 27 sites were examined. Six new sea lion breeding colonies were documented, at Four Hummocks, Price, North Rocky, Dorothee, West Waldegrave and Nicolas Baudin Islands. All were found or confirmed by ground survey. Pup numbers were equivalent to 12% of the total number of pups estimated in surveys conducted from 1987 to 1992, but primarily in 1990. The sighting of brown pups on aerial surveys of Ward Island, Middle and Western Nuyts Reef supports earlier indications, based on dead pups, that they are breeding colonies. The timing of pupping seasons is not synchronous; estimates are presented for colonies between 1995 and early in 2004, with predictions to the end of 2005. The abundance estimates of sea lion pups highlight the importance of visiting a colony early in the pupping season to determine when pupping begins and ~5 months later when the maximum number of pups is expected. For the New Zealand fur seal, small numbers of pups were recorded at Dorothee, West Waldegrave and Nicolas Baudin Islands, and at Nuyts Reef. These and the previously unknown sea lion breeding colonies on the west coast of South Australia suggest that further colonies may remain to be documented. Because planning for aquaculture ventures is active in South Australia, it is important that the localities and status of sea lion and fur seal colonies be established unequivocally to ensure that the need for Prohibited Area status for islands with breeding colonies and for Marine Protected Areas around them is noted.

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Australian sea lions Neophoca cinerea at colonies in South Australia: distribution and abundance, 2004 to 2008

Endangered Species Research ◽

10.3354/esr00317 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 87-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

PD Shaughnessy ◽

SD Goldsworthy ◽

DJ Hamer ◽

B Page ◽

RR McIntosh

Keyword(s):

South Australia ◽

Sea Lions ◽

Neophoca Cinerea

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Birth to weaning: parturition, duration of lactation, and attendance cycles of Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z93-290 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 71 (10) ◽

pp. 2047-2055 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Lesley V. Higgins ◽

Leila Gass

Keyword(s):

Significant Variation ◽

Site Fidelity ◽

South Australia ◽

Maternal Investment ◽

Breeding Cycle ◽

Sea Lions ◽

Long Period ◽

Neophoca Cinerea ◽

Breeding Seasons ◽

Over Time

Parturition, time to weaning, and female attendance patterns were studied over four breeding seasons in Australian sea lions, Neophoca cinerea, on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Females generally exhibited site fidelity in their choice of birth sites, and arrived a mean of 1.8 days prior to birth. After birth, females stayed ashore a mean of 9.8 days before departing on their first foraging trip. Trips to sea were about 48 h in length although there was significant variation over time. Stays ashore were about 33 h long and were much less varied than trips to sea. Females moved pups away from the natal areas after about 1 month, and began spending less time with them while they were ashore. Linked with the extended breeding cycle of 17.6 months was an equally long period of maternal investment. Females suckled their pups for 15 – 18 months, or until about 1 month before the next birth. Twenty-nine percent of females did not pup consecutively each breeding season, but continued to suckle their offspring until the next birth, some for as long as 40 months.

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Trends in abundance of Australian Sea Lions, Neophoca cinerea, at Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island South Australia

Sea Lions of the World ◽

10.4027/slw.2006.23 ◽

2006 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

P.D. Shaughnessy ◽

R.R. McIntosh ◽

S.D. Goldsworthy ◽

T.E. Dennis ◽

M. Berris

Keyword(s):

South Australia ◽

Sea Lions ◽

Neophoca Cinerea

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Pup numbers of the Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) at The Pages Islands, South Australia, over two decades

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo13015 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 61 (2) ◽

pp. 112 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Peter D. Shaughnessy ◽

Simon D. Goldsworthy ◽

Paul Burch ◽

Terry E. Dennis

Keyword(s):

Population Size ◽

South Australia ◽

Sea Lion ◽

Breeding Colony ◽

Sea Lions ◽

Neophoca Cinerea ◽

Australian Sea Lion ◽

Gill Net ◽

Low Levels ◽

Breeding Seasons

The Australian sea lion is an Australian endemic, restricted to South Australia and Western Australia, with 86% of the population in South Australia. It was listed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act as Vulnerable in February 2005, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has listed it as Endangered. Sea lions are taken as bycatch in the gill-net fishery for school shark and gummy shark, and the risk of extinction of breeding colonies is high even from low levels of bycatch. We assessed trends in pup population size at The Pages Islands, a large breeding colony in South Australia. Pup abundance was estimated by direct counting of live and dead pups; the maximum count in each breeding season was used for trend analysis. The average of direct counts of pups in 14 breeding seasons between 1989–90 and 2009–10 was 473 (s.d. = 58.4). There was no trend in pup numbers, contrasting with two other large colonies: Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island (decreasing), and Dangerous Reef (increasing since 2000). The Australian Sea Lion Management Strategy of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority aims to reduce sea lion bycatch in the shark fishery; a key item is a fishery closure around each breeding colony in South Australia. Implementation of the closure around The Pages should lower the risk of bycatch of its sea lions with foraging areas that previously overlapped with the fishery and should allow the colony’s population size to increase.

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