From Vagrant to Resident: occurrence,residency and births of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) in New Zealand waters

ABSTRACT

In contrast to previous reports that leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) are rare vagrants to New Zealand, we show that this species is a regular member of the marine fauna of this region. We present a first analysis from the New Zealand Leopard Seal Database – an extensive collation of 2,711 records of leopard seals within New Zealand between 1200 and 2018. Of these records, 51.2% (n?=?1,408) were photographic. Leopard seal sightings have increased over time and been reported in all seasons and regions of New Zealand. Sightings are predominantly of adult individuals of good or excellent body condition, which differs to previous hypotheses suggesting that leopard seals visiting New Zealand shores are primarily juvenile animals in poor health condition. A total of 176 unique individuals have been identified in the New Zealand Leopard Seal Catalogue between 2014 and 2018 and preliminary results indicate that numbers per annum have continued to increase over time. Three leopard seal births and a number of juvenile animals (34% of the NZ records) have been documented. Considering the information presented here and the current definitions in the New Zealand Threat Classification System, the threat status of leopard seals within New Zealand waters should be reclassified from Vagrant to Resident.     

Erratic continental rocks on volcanic seamounts off the US west coast

Sampling of volcanic seamounts with dredges and the remotely operated vehicle Tiburon recovered erratic rocks in surprising abundance as far as 500km offshore of the US West coast. The erratics usually have continental lithologies and appear to have been weathered in nearshore environments. They are probably transported by kelp holdfasts, drift logs, and pinnipeds to the seamounts, where they accumulate over time. The erratics are concentrated as lag deposits and kept from becoming buried in sediment by currents that sweep the seamounts. The erratics often have thinner manganese-oxide crusts than rocks of the seamounts because they were delivered to the seafloor more recently and manganese-oxide crusts precipitate over time. The thinner crusts make erratics easier to collect. While most of the erratics clearly did not originate by the volcanic processes that formed the seamounts, careful evaluation of some is necessary to distinguish them as erratics. Failure to recognize the presence of erratics may result in unrealistically complex interpretations of regional geology.     

Conservation status of New Zealand marine mammals (suborders Cetacea and Pinnipedia), 2009

The conservation status of New Zealand (NZ) marine mammals (suborders Cetacea and Pinnipedia) is reappraised using the 2008 version of the NZ Threat Classification System. The list comprises 56 taxa (named species or subspecies, and as yet unnamed forms or types) in the following categories: Threatened—eight taxa (five Nationally Critical and three Nationally Endangered); Vagrant—six taxa; Migrant—20 taxa; and Data Deficient—13 taxa. A further nine taxa are listed as Not Threatened. Relative to the previous listing, the threat status of two species worsened: the NZ sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) was uplisted to Nationally Critical and the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was uplisted to Nationally Endangered. No species was considered to have an improved status. With the uplisting of the NZ sea lion and the continued listing of the Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori hectori) as Endangered and Maui's dolphin (C. hectori maui) as Nationally Critical, all three endemic NZ marine mammals are now considered threatened with extinction. We considered future research or management actions that would allow the downlisting of the eight taxa currently listed as Threatened.     

Comparison of methods for the analysis of New Zealand sea lion,Phocarctos hookeri,milk

Abstract

The milk composition of New Zealand sea lion, Phocarctos hookeri, was determined using standard analytical methods, a MilkoScan? FT 120 and an accelerated solvent extractor (ASE) for fat concentration. The results for fat, protein and total solid concentrations between the different analytical methods were assessed using different measures of statistical fitness including coefficient of determination, concordance correlation coefficient, mean prediction error, and intraclass correlation coefficient. The repeatability and reliability of the results obtained with the calibrated MilkoScan? FT 120 were comparable with those obtained using standard methods, the Roese‐Gottlieb method for fat, Kjeldahl method for protein and gravimetric method for total solids. The MilkoScan? FT 120s are fast and cost‐effective and are widely used in dairy laboratories around the world, which should make them readily accessible to ecologists/biologists studying the milk composition of non‐domestic animals.