Forecasting future spatial use of Seal Bay Conservation Park by the endangered Australia sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) in a changing climate

Seal Bay Conservation Park is the third largest colony of Australian sea lions, a vitally important breeding location and tourist destination.

Park design includes protection areas (PAs) to provide refuges without human presence. There are reports of a generalised movement of breeding animals within the colony, from the Western PAs to the Eastern PAs over two decades. Counts have been undertaken for 30+ years and since 2002 pups are microchipped under the ASL Monitoring Program. Scanning provides further details.

I aim to analyse changes in preferred location, determine underlying drivers and outline impacts on park management.