The dataset contains initial capture and marking data for California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) pups at San Miguel Island, California and subsequent resighting of the marked animals throughout the time series. The data are used in mark-recapture analysis to estimate survival and natality rates.

The dataset contains initial capture and marking data for California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) pups at San Miguel Island, California and subsequent resighting of the marked animals throughout the time series. The data are used in mark-recapture analysis to estimate survival rates.

The migration and movement patterns of male California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) were investigated to determine the timing and distance of the migration. Adult male sea lions were instrumented with satellite-linked instruments in Puget Sound, Washington, before the southbound migration between 1995 and 2000. This dataset contains the ARGOS location data from the instrumented animals that subsequently was analyzed by the California Current Ecosystem Program (AFSC/NOAA).

California sea lions pup and breed at four of the nine Channel Islands in southern California. Since 1981, SWFSC MMTD has been conducting a diet study of sea lions at San Clemente Island (a small rookery) and San Nicolas Island (a large rookery). Information on the diet of sea lions is obtained from analyzing scats (i.e., fecal samples) and spewings (i.e., vomitus) collected at those two rookeries in January (winter), April (spring), July (summer), and October (autumn). Otoliths (a crystalline structure within the ear organ) from fish and beaks (mandibles composed of chitin) from cephalopods are recovered from the samples by washing each sample through sieves of varying mesh size. Otoliths and beaks, which are shaped and sized differently for each species of fish and cephalopod, respectively, are used to identify and enumerate fish, and cephalopods consumed by sea lions. Also, otoliths and beaks are measured for estimating size of prey being consumed by sea lions.

This dataset contains data from the capture and recapture of over 1500 male California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) from Washington between 1989-2006. The data fields include capture data such as time, location, weight, length, and girth for each animal captured. The dataset also includes records of resights of each animal from records collected from observers from California to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The dataset also contains information from opportunistic captures of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in the same region.

The National Marine Mammal Laboratories' California Current Ecosystem Program (AFSC/NOAA) initiated and maintains census programs for California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) at San Miguel and San Nicolas Islands, California. The program documents annual pup births, pup mortality, and temporal patterns in adult and juvenile presence at San Miguel Island. For both species, the database contains field data on the annual number of live pups and dead pups by location. At San Miguel Island, daily counts of adults, pups, and juveniles in a sample area are also available. The data are used to describe population trends and changes in land resource use among the species.

From 1986 to 1999, The National Marine Mammal Laboratories' California Current Ecosystem Program (AFSC/NOAA) collected fecal samples and stomachs of male California sea lions from Washington. Scat samples were collected primarily from haulout sites in Puget Sound and a few were collected along the northern-outer Washington coast. Stomach content samples were collected from dead/stranded California sea lions throughout Washington. The data contains prey identifications and analyses of samples including prey species composition, frequency of occurrence, and size of prey.

The purpose of this project was to obtain data that are pertinent to assessing aspects of the distribution and foraging ecology of pinnipeds inhabiting the California Current. The California Current Ecosystem Program has attached satellite instruments and/or archival time-depth recorders on pinnipeds inhabiting waters off Washington, Oregon, and California to examine their haulout and at-sea spatial distribution, diving behaviors, and movement patterns at varying temporal scales. We aim to integrate telemetry data with aspects of their physiology and diet to assess sex/age-related differences by conspecifics or intra-specific differences among seals, sea lions, or fur seals in the California Current. Locations are calculated and provided by the Argos satellite system (http://www.argos-system.org/). Additional software are required to decode these data. Data are, generally, in the same format as originally delivered from Argos/CLS America and no quality assurance or quality control measures have been implemented.

The National Marine Mammal Laboratories' California Current Ecosystem Program (AFSC/NOAA) initiated a long-term marking program of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) at San Miguel Island, California in 1975. A sample of up to 300 pups has been tagged in the foreflippers with various types and colors of tags each year between 1975 and the present. Resighting surveys for marked animals are conducted annually at summer breeding sites. Resightings are also obtained from the public when animals are observed on beaches or in fisheries. The data are used in mark-recapture models to estimate the age and sex specific vital parameters of the population and to describe age and sex specific reproductive behavior and seasonal movements of animals throughout their lives.

The Marine Mammal Laboratories' California Current Ecosystem Program (AFSC/NOAA) in collaboration with Point Blue Conservation Science initiated long-term studies to determine pup abundance of the California Stock of northern fur seals. The California Stock is comprised of northern fur seals inhabiting San Miguel Island (and Castle Rock, and islet ~1 km northwest) and the Farallon Islands (specifically, Southeast Island) off California. Pup production is the sum of the numbers of live pups and dead pups for a given pupping season. This in turn is used as index to estimate total population abundance. Population abundance is vital to knowing the status of a particular stock or the entire species, as well as knowing what factors are driving population trends. Metadata and datasets corresponding to these studies are reported in Stock Assessment Reports (SAR) for the U.S. Congress and other stakeholders.