Population genetics is investigated in the two resident species of fur seals and sea lions inhabiting the Punta San Juan reserve: South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) and sea lions (Otaria flavescens).
This research aims to assess the genetic relationships between individuals found at Punta San Juan reserve and other Peruvian and South American populations.
Tissue (inter-digital flipper) samples are collected and stored for extraction, amplification and sequencing of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Samples collected at the PSJ reserve have been used for a variety of genetics research in fur seals since the early 1990s, and in sea lions since 2004. This information will determine if there are singularities of the Peruvian populations of pinnipeds compared to other South American pinniped populations.