an aphrodisiac market. Although the Peruvian Fisheries Ministry was considering a pilot program to kill up to 60 sea lions, the 1999-2000 El Niño event reduced the population and the plan was abandoned.
El Niño events have a dramatic impact on South American sea lion populations. In Peru and Chile it was reported that the 1997-98 El Niño drastically reduced sea lion populations from an estimated 180,000 to 30,000. The greatest loss of sea lions consisted of adult females, which will slow the recovery rate of this population. In northern Chile, the 1997-98 El Niño affected mainly pups and juvenile sea lions, which will also lead to a long-term slow recovery rate.
Environmental contamination from toxic chemicals and heavy metals has been identified in sea lions by scientists at the port of Mar del Plata, Argentina resulting in skin infections, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, and hair loss.
References & Further Research
Research Otaria flavescens » Barcode of Life ~ BioOne ~ Biodiversity Heritage Library ~ CITES ~ Cornell Macaulay Library [audio / video] ~ Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) ~ ESA Online Journals ~ FishBase ~ Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department ~ GBIF ~ Google Scholar ~ ITIS ~ IUCN RedList (Threatened Status) ~ Marine Species Identification Portal ~ NCBI (PubMed, GenBank, etc.) ~ Ocean Biogeographic Information System ~ PLOS ~ SCIRIS ~ SIRIS ~ Tree of Life Web Project ~ UNEP-WCMC Species Database ~ WoRMS
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