Predicting life-history traits for female New Zealand sea lions, Phocarctos hookeri: Integrating short-term mark-recapture data and population modeling Journal Paper
- Author
- Chilvers, B. L., Wilkinson, I. S., Mackenzie, D. I.
- Year
- 2010
- Journal / Source
- Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics
- Publisher / Organisation
- American Statistical Association and the International Biometric Society
- Volume
- 15
- Number
- 2
- Pages
- 259–278
- Species
- Phocarctos hookeri, NZ sea lion, Hooker sea lion
- Keywords
- life history, NZ sea lion, population modeling, Auckland Islands, Fisheries interactions, Multi-state mark-recapture model, Population dynamics
- Summary
- The trade-off between survival and reproduction by individuals is central to understanding life-history parameters of a species. Few mammal species have life-history information from long-term research. Instead, demographic models are commonly utilized to investigate an individual’s life-history strategy, species dynamics, and population trends. This research investigates age-related survival and reproductive performance of adult female New Zealand (NZ) sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri), using multistate mark-recapture data from known-age branded individuals over five years. The mark-recapture analysis was integrated with a population model to predict the lifetime reproductive output of female NZ sea lions. The integration of an analysis of short-term datasets with population modeling allows for the prediction of life-history parameters of long lived animals when long-term information is not available. While such approaches involve some caveats, it provides a framework for investigating population dynamics and is preferential to unsubstantiated assumptions. This technique can lead to better design and implementation of conservation management for long lived species., Auckland Islands; Fisheries interactions; Multi-state mark-recapture model; Population dynamics.