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Galapagos fur seals exploit warmer waters to establish colony off Peru Jeremy Hance mongabay.com February 25, 2010 Carlos Yaipen-Llanos, a marine biologist at the Orca research center in Peru, told Reuters that approximately 30 Galapagos fur seals have established a colony on Isla Foca. Researchers have evidence of the colony mating and breeding. "The scientific importance of the Galapagos fur seals establishing a resident colony in Peru is that the animals have extended their range and found a new habitat. This is associated with warmer water temperatures," he told Reuters. Sea-surface temperatures around Isle Foca have risen over the last fifty years, nearing those of the warmer waters around the Galapagos. However, until genetic evidence is provided some dispute the claim, arguing that the seals Yaipen-Llanos has found are not in fact Galapagos fur seals, but South American fur seals, already present in the region. While Yaipen-Llanos is waiting for genetic results, he says that the two species are unique enough for him to tell the difference. The Galapagos fur seal is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. Related articles Harbor seals return to New York (03/26/2009) More than a hundred years passed, and the Hudson River and Atlantic Ocean estuary was cleaned up—enough to support the comeback of the harbor seal. In spring of 2006, kayakers and recreational boaters who frequent the waters around the Verrazano Bridge, took note of what appeared to be marine mammals that had not been there before. Were there harbor seals, again in this urban estuary? The boaters notified the Kingsborough Community College for Maritime Studies and the New York Aquarium, who teamed up to investigate, and thus, began the first annual harbor seal survey. Caspian seal numbers plummet 90% (11/12/2008) Caspian Seal populations have declined 90% in the past 100 years, prompting the IUCN to switch their designation from Vulnerable to Endangered. Seals used for climate change research (08/11/2008) Animals have aided humanity for millennia. We are used to considering animals like dogs, horses, cows, and lamas as utilitarian in a very direct way, but what about elephant seals?
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