Ecology and Conservation of Pinnipeds in Latin America

Chapter 1 - Introduction - Pinnipeds in Latin America.- Chapter 2 - South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis, Zimmerman 1783).- Chapter 3 - Ecology and conservation of the Galapagos fur seal (Arctocephalus galapagoensis, Heller 1904).- Chapter 4 - Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella, Peters 1876).- Chapter 5 - Reviewing the current status of Juan Fernandez fur seals (Arctocephalus philippii philippii, Peters 1866).- Chapter 6 - The Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii townsendi, Merriam 1897).- Chapter 7 - South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens, Shaw 1800).- Chapter 8 - Current status of the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus, Lesson 1828) in Mexico.- Chapter 9 - Life history strategies in the Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki, Silvertsen 1953): understanding the past to predict the future.- Chapter 10 - Conservation and management implications of southern elephant seals (Miroung leonina, Linnaeus 1758): demography, social organization and behavior.- Chapter 11 - Status review of the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris, Gill 1866) in Mexico: past, present and perspectives.- Chapter 12 - The Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii, Gray 1864) in Mexico.

Dr. Gisela Heckel studied Biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and received her MSc and PhD in Coastal Oceanography from the Autonomous University of Baja California, Mexico. Her main research focuses are on ecology, conservation biology and natural resource management for marine mammals in connection with human activities. Beyond her academic career, since 1997, Dr. Heckel has also been involved in marine mammal stranding response in Baja California, which deals mostly with California sea lions and other pinnipeds. Since 2008, she has collaborated in research projects on the four pinniped species that occur along the coast and islands west of the Baja California peninsula. She is a former vice-president of the Mexican Marine Mammalogy Society, and later served as president (from 2006 to 2008). Since 2003 she has been a Professor at the Conservation Biology Department, Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and Graduate Education in Baja California, Mexico.