Harbor Seal Monitoring at Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area: Annual Report 2005
Vanderhoof M and Allen S. 2005. Harbor Seal Monitoring at Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area: Annual Report 2005
Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) are the dominant and only year round resident pinniped at Point Reyes, California. The Point Reyes seal population represents the largest concentration of harbor seals in the State of California, other than the Channel Islands, accounting for 20% of the mainland breeding population (Lowry and Carretta 2003). Much of the Point Reyes coastal zone remains fairly pristine and provides excellent marine and terrestrial habitat for seals to rest, molt feed and breed where human encroachment is minimal. Long-term monitoring studies of harbor seals have been conducted at selected colonies at Point Reyes since 1976 (Allen et al. 1989, Sydeman and Allen 1999, Allen et al. 2004). The objectives of monitoring are to 1) detect changes in population numbers, 2) detect changes in reproductive success and 3) identify anthropogenic or environmental factors that might affect population status and trends. The monitoring objectives and protocol are described in detail in Hester et al. (draft report). The information presented here is a summary of the data collected during the 2005 breeding and molting seasons, MarchJuly. Summary data collected as part of a region-wide survey effort including adjacent areas (San Francisco Bay, San Mateo County and Sonoma County) where NPS surveys were conducted in 2005 in conjunction with other agencies and organizations are also presented.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Vanderhoof, Melanie; Allen, Sarah
- Date of Issue
- 2005
- Units
- GOGA , MAHE , PORE , SFAN
- Keywords
- annual report, harbor seals, monitoring, phoca vitulina, pinniped
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Marine Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals