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Abstract

abstract

Comparison of areas of high and low human activity on Marion Island shows no difference in rates of decline of elephant seal numbers. Spatial distribution of births also shows no change in the period 1976 � 1986, suggesting that no shift in breeding population distribution has occurred in the period as a result of the level of human activity on Marion Island. Furthermore, comparisons of Marion Island with other breeding sites of elephant seals, where human activity is lower, show no significant differences in the rates of decline of the species. Direct onshore human disturbance is therefore rejected as a significant factor in the decline of the species.