Estimation of juvenile survival, adult survival, and age-specific pupping probabilities for the female grey seal (<i>Halichoerus gryprus</i>) on Sable Island from capture-recapture data

Abstract

We use a longitudinal capture-recapture study from resightings of grey seals (Halichoerus gryprus) branded as young on Sable Island to estimate (i) the juvenile survival rate from the time of branding to age 4, (ii) the yearly adult survival rate from age 4 to age 9, and (iii) the age-specific pupping probabilities, i.e., the probability that a seal will first give birth at each age. The estimated juvenile survival rate from branding (just after weaning) to age 4 ranged from 70 to 80%; however, the lower values are known to be biased low because the study was terminated early. The estimated yearly adult survival rates for ages 4-9 ranged from 0.88 to 0.92·year -1 . The estimated probabilities of first giving birth to a young seal (pupping) at ages 4-9 are 0.28, 0.41, 0.18, 0.06, 0.05, and 0.02, respectively, and the estimated average age of first pupping is 5.2 years.