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Abstract

abstract

The nonbreeding population of Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at the Courbet Peninsula, Iles Kerguelen totalled 1 332 individuals, which were concentrated on the leeward northeast and southeast coasts. These comprised 98,6 per cent (n = 1 312) immatures of both sexes, and 1,2 per cent (n =16) adult males. Few adult females were recorded, and two pups were born. The approximately 2,3 fold increase in total numbers since 1980 is at least in part a seasonal phenomenon as censuses were not directly comparable, but probably reflects the increase in A. gazella numbers which are manifested throughout their breeding range. The smaller size of yearlings on the Courbet Peninsula compared to their South Georgia counterparts suggests stunted growth as a result of low food availability during the post-weaning period. Low food availability could explain the slow development of breeding populations within the Kerguelen Province as a whole as it represents a suboptimal habitat away from large concentrations of krill Euphausia superba, their principal food resource elsewhere.