Annual population counts of multiple species of seal, Signy Island, 1974-2024

The seal population on Signy Island has been monitored since 1974. The total number of adult seals were counted in February each year. The island was divided into 6 zones, and the number of Antarctic Fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella), Elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) and other seal species in each zone were counted, typically over several days. For Fur seals the number of pups, white seals and entangled seals were also recorded. The first recorded count was conducted in 1974 and counts have been done annually since 1985.

This work was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) core funding to the British Antarctic Survey.

自1974年起，科研人员便对锡尼岛（Signy Island）的海豹种群启动长期监测工作。每年2月统计成年海豹的总数量，该岛被划分为6个区域，会逐一统计每个区域内南极海狗（Antarctic Fur seals，Arctocephalus gazella）、南象海豹（Elephant seals，Mirounga leonina）、威德尔海豹（Weddell seals，Leptonychotes weddellii）及其他海豹物种的种群数量，统计工作通常持续数日。针对南极海狗，研究人员还会额外记录其幼崽、白化个体与受困个体的数量。首次统计工作于1974年完成，自1985年起，该项统计工作每年定期开展。

本研究由英国自然环境研究理事会（Natural Environment Research Council, UK）向英国南极调查局（British Antarctic Survey）提供的核心资助支持。