IMIS

The dataset includes information on the sex and species of individuals, information on their reproductive histories, resight data and tagging history. The program began in 1986, but no data are available pre-1989. The download file consists of a wide-range of files: an access database, a large number of excel spreadsheets, word documents, pdf files and text files. Data are contained in the access database (1994-1997) and excel spreadsheets and text files (all other years). The word documents and pdf files contain a lot of further information about the data collected in each season. A readme document containing some general information about the datsets is also part of the download file - in the top level directory. The fields in this dataset are: date type ID number tag tagged previous tag weight digit sole width headgaurd muzzle coat belly biopsy blood milk girth length sex birth date weaning date birth mass mass at weaning date of weaning death date comments mother tag breeding father last seen year status territory 2007/2008 Season update A successful field season was undertaken at Macquarie Island during the 07/08 summer. This included maintenance of the annual surveys of pup production (DNA sampling for species identification), pup tagging and resighting of individual seals for assessment of reproductive performance and survival for long-term demographic analyses. Two publications in the journal Molecular Ecology on reproductive success of hybrids and mating strategies to limit hybridisation were produced, and the preparation of a major manuscript on the colonisation, status and trends in abundance of the three fur seal species at Macquarie Island has been completed and will be submitted shortly. Progress has been made of three main fronts: 1. Completed field season at Macquarie Island and maintenance of the annual surveys of pup production (DNA sampling for species identification), pup tagging and resighting of individual seals for assessment of reproductive performance and survival for long-term demographic analyses. 2. Two publications in the journal Molecular Ecology on reproductive success of hybrids and mating strategies to limit hybridisation, 3. The preparation of a major manuscript on the colonisation, status and trends in abundance of the three fur seal species at Macquarie Island. We plan to make significant developments in demographic database management and analyses over the 08/09.