Question

About 200 years ago, the population of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) on islands near Antarctica was estimated between 160,000 and 180,000 individual seals. When explorers discovered the islands, they began intensive hunting of the seals for their fur, and stopped only when they could find no more seals to hunt. Around 50 years ago, scientists discovered and protected a small colony of 25 seals, and began recording the size of the population over time. Their data are shown in the graph below.

A. Identify the year at which the fur seal population begins to recover from intensive hunting.

B. Identify the new carrying capacity of the ecosystem for the Antarctic fur seals

Answer 1

Based on the information provided, the year at which the fur seal population begins to recover from intensive hunting would likely be around 30 years ago, which is when the population started to increase after remaining relatively stable for a few years.

To identify the new carrying capacity of the ecosystem for the Antarctic fur seals, we would need to know the maximum population size that the ecosystem can support sustainably over the long term. However, this information is not provided in the given context. Therefore, it is not possible to determine the new carrying capacity of the ecosystem for the Antarctic fur seals.