title: Entanglement of Antarctic fur seals at Bouvetøya, Southern Ocean.
abstract: Entanglements of Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella were recorded during four summers from 1996 to 2002 at the subantarctic island, Bouvetøya. Rates of entanglement varied between 0.024% and 0.059%. These rates are low for a pinniped population and might be because of the geographic isolation of the haulout site. An apparent decrease in the levels of entanglement over the course of the study was likely due, at least in part, to the removal of entanglements by observers. At least two-thirds of entangling materials were generated by fishery sources. Since there is no known local source of anthropogenic marine pollution, seals become entangled either in waters distant from the island, or when materials drift into local waters. Significantly more subadults were found entangled than expected from the postulated population age class distribution.
authors.affiliation: Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa. ghofmeyr@zoology.up.ac.za
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Greg Hofmeyr
authors.forename: Marthán N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Bester
authors.forename: Steve P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Kirkman
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lydersen
authors.forename: Kit M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kovacs
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D005398:Fisheries / Q000295:instrumentation*; D046069:Fur Seals; D009026:Mortality; D012737:Sex Factors; D014866:Waste Products
chemical_list: D014866:Waste Products