National Park Service

Pacific Harbor Seal (Phoca Vitulina Richardsi) Monitoring at Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area 2009 Annual Report National Park Service

Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardsi) are the dominant and only year-round residentpinniped in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Long-term monitoring studies have beenconducted at the largest harbor seal colonies in Point Reyes National Seashore since the mid1970?s. The objectives of monitoring each site and the population as a whole are to i) detectchanges in population size, ii) detect changes in reproductive success by way of pup production,and iii) identify anthropogenic or environmental factors that may affect the condition of thepopulation (Adams et al. 2009).