scholarly journals Seal Occurrence and Habitat Use during Summer in Petermann Fjord, Northwestern Greenland

ARCTIC ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Lomac-MacNair ◽  
Martin Jakobsson ◽  
Alan Mix ◽  
Francis Freire ◽  
Kelly Hogan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Hooded Seal ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
Ice Coverage ◽  
Ringed Seals ◽  
Pagophilus Groenlandicus ◽  
Bearded Seals

Ice-associated seals are considered especially susceptible and are potentially the first to modify distribution and habitat use in response to physical changes associated with the changing climate. Petermann Glacier, part of a unique ice-tongue fjord environment in a rarely studied region of northwestern Greenland, lost substantial sections of its ice tongue during major 2010 and 2012 calving events. As a result, changes in seal habitat may have occurred. Seal occurrence and distribution data were collected in Petermann Fjord and adjacent Nares Strait region over 27 days (2 to 28 August) during the multidisciplinary scientific Petermann 2015 Expedition on the icebreaker Oden. During 239.4 hours of dedicated observation effort, a total of 312 individuals were recorded, representing four species: bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), hooded seal (Crystophora cristata), harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), and ringed seal (Pusa hispida). Ringed seals were recorded significantly more than the other species (χ2 = 347.4, df = 3, p < 0.001, n = 307). We found significant differences between species in haul-out (resting on ice) behavior (χ2 = 133.1, df = 3, p < 0.001, n = 307). Bearded seals were more frequently hauled out (73.1% n = 49), whereas ringed seals were almost exclusively in water (93.9%, n = 200). Differences in average depth and ice coverage where species occurred were also significant: harp seals and bearded seals were found in deeper water and areas of greater ice coverage (harp seals: 663 ± 366 m and 65 ± 14% ice cover; bearded seals: 598 ± 259 m and 50 ± 21% ice cover), while hooded seals and ringed seals were found in shallower water with lower ice coverage (hooded seals: 490 ± 163 m and 38 ± 19% ice cover; ringed seals: 496 ± 235 m, and 21 ± 20% ice cover). Our study provides an initial look at how High Arctic seals use the rapidly changing Petermann Fjord and how physical variables influence their distribution in one of the few remaining ice-tongue fjord environments.

scholarly journals Bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) vocalizations across seasons and habitat types in Svalbard, Norway

Polar Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel M. Llobet ◽  
Heidi Ahonen ◽  
Christian Lydersen ◽  
Jørgen Berge ◽  
Rolf Ims ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Generalized Additive Models ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Additive Models ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Breeding Populations ◽  
Erignathus Barbatus ◽  
Bearded Seals

AbstractMale bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) use vocal displays to attract females and to compete with other males during the mating season. This makes it possible to monitor breeding populations of this species using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). This study analysed year-round acoustic data records from AURAL instruments in Svalbard (Norway) to investigate seasonal variation in the acoustic presence of male bearded seals and the phenology of different call types (long, step and sweep trills) at three sites representing a variety of habitats with varied ice conditions. Male bearded seals vocalized for an extended period at a drift-ice site (Atwain; January–July) north of Spitsbergen, while the vocal season was shorter at a High Arctic land-fast-ice site (Rijpfjorden; February–June) and shorter yet again at a west-coast site that has undergone dramatic reductions in sea ice cover over the last 1.5 decades (Kongsfjorden; April–June). Generalized Additive Models showed marked seasonal segregation in the use of different trill types at Atwain, where call rates reached 400 per h, with long trills being the most numerous call type. Modest segregation of trill types was seen at Rijpfjorden, where call rates reached 300 per h, and no segregation occurred in Kongsfjorden (peak call rate 80 per h). Sea ice cover was available throughout the vocal season at Atwain and Rijpfjorden, while at Kongsfjorden peak vocal activity (May–June) occurred after the sea ice disappeared. Ongoing climate warming and sea ice reductions will likely increase the incidence of such mismatches and reduce breeding habitat for bearded seals.

scholarly journals Indigenous knowledge of bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), ringed seal (Pusa hispida), and spotted seal (Phoca largha) behaviour and habitat use near Utqiaġvik, Alaska

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowenna Gryba ◽  
Henry P Huntington ◽  
Andrew L. Von Duyke ◽  
Billy Adams ◽  
Brower Frantz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Municipal Government ◽  
Ringed Seal ◽  
Ringed Seals ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Inland Water Bodies ◽  
Management And Conservation ◽  
Bearded Seals

Indigenous people possess information of animals’ habitat use and behaviour; information essential for management and conservation of species affected by climate change. Accessibility of species that are important to Indigenous hunters may also change with environmental conditions. We documented Indigenous Knowledge of bearded (ugruk in Iñupiaq), ringed (natchiq), and spotted seals (qasigiaq) in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, using semi-directed interviews with Iñupiaq hunters. This study originated from discussions with an agency of the regional municipal government to serve co-management efforts and understand habitat use of species subjected to climate change. Results indicated that ringed seals are associated with higher ice concentrations in winter than bearded seals and changes in sea ice retreat in spring may have greater impact on ringed seal habitat use because they are more likely to haul out on ice in spring. Additionally, all three species have foraging hotspots, used over several days by multiple individuals. Bearded seals, and to a lesser extent spotted and ringed seals, will use currents to forage. Results also revealed the use of inland water bodies and terrestrial habitat, which may become more important for bearded and ringed seals with changing ice concentrations and should be considered in management and conservation of these species.

The Distribution and Abundance of Seals in the Canadian High Arctic, 1980–82

1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1189-1210 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. S. Kingsley ◽  
I. Stirling ◽  
W. Calvert
Keyword(s):  
Deep Water ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Phoca Hispida ◽  
Canadian High Arctic ◽  
Ringed Seals ◽  
Preferred Habitat ◽  
Erignathus Barbatus ◽  
Sverdrup Basin ◽  
Amundsen Gulf ◽  
Bearded Seals

Surveys of hauled-out ringed seals (Phoca hispida) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) were flown in 1980 and 1981 over Jones Sound, the Sverdrup Basin, the channels between the Parry Islands, the Parry Channel, Prince of Wales Strait, and northern Amundsen Gulf. Part of the survey was flown again in 1982. Ringed seals were most numerous in Barrow Strait and Wellington Channel, their density decreasing westward and northward. Their preferred habitat was annual ice, fast or cracking, of high cover; they avoided deep water. Bearded seals were seen in low numbers in early-opening areas, preferring floe or rotten ice of moderate or low cover over shallow water.

Drifting away: implications of changes in ice conditions for a pack-ice-breeding phocid, the harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus)

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (11) ◽  
pp. 1050-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.E. Bajzak ◽  
M.O. Hammill ◽  
G.B. Stenson ◽  
S. Prinsenberg
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Harp Seal ◽  
First Year ◽  
Ice Coverage ◽  
Pagophilus Groenlandicus ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Northwestern Coast

Harp seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus (Erxleben, 1777)) required drifting pack-ice for birth, nursing, and as a resting platform for neonates after weaning. Data on the yearly location of whelping patches in the Gulf of St. Lawrence collected between 1977 and 2011 were combined with ice cover data (thickness and duration) to examine whether female harp seals actively select particular ice features as a breeding platform and to describe how these ice features have varied over the last 40 years at three spatial scales: the entire Gulf of St. Lawrence, the southern gulf, and the “traditional whelping area” within the southern Gulf. From our analyses, harp seals prefer the thickest ice stages available in the Gulf: grey–white and first-year ice. Lower than normal ice coverage years were more frequent for the required grey–white and first-year ice than for the total ice cover and less frequent at the “traditional whelping area” scale close to the northwestern coast of the Magdalen Islands than at the Gulf of St. Lawrence scale. The frequency of light ice years increased and the duration of the ice season decreased throughout the last decade. Our study showed that the temporal availability and the spatial distribution of the suitable ice are important when evaluating the effect of changes in ice conditions rather than overall ice extent.

Aspects of Predation of Seals by Polar Bears

1977 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1126-1129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Stirling ◽  
W. Ralph Archibald
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Ursus Maritimus ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Phoca Hispida ◽  
Ringed Seals ◽  
Arctic Foxes ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Erignathus Barbatus ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
Bearded Seals

Data were collected from 227 ringed seals (Phoca hispida) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) killed by polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the western arctic and the eastern high arctic. During periods of high ringed seal productivity, pups constituted at least half of the seals killed in both areas during the spring. Bearded seals were taken less often than ringed seals in both areas but were more important as prey to polar bears in the western arctic. Carcass utilization was significantly higher in the eastern high arctic than in the western arctic although the reason was not apparent. Scavenging of unutilized seal remains is probably of great importance to the survival of large numbers of arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) through the winter. Key words: Ursus maritimus, Phoca hispida, Erignathus barbatus, predation, interspecific relationships, Arctic Ocean mammals

Distribution and abundance of ringed (Phoca hispida) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) in western Hudson Bay

1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 914-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
N J Lunn ◽  
I Stirling ◽  
S N Nowicki
Keyword(s):  
Polar Bear ◽  
Hudson Bay ◽  
Phoca Hispida ◽  
Current Estimate ◽  
Ringed Seals ◽  
Erignathus Barbatus ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Western Hudson Bay ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Bearded Seals

We flew a medium-altitude, systematic, strip-transect survey for ringed (Phoca hispida) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) over western Hudson Bay in early June 1994 and 1995. The mean density (per square kilometre) of ringed seals hauled out on the ice was four times higher in 1995 (1.690) than in 1994 (0.380). The 1994 survey appeared to underestimate seal abundance because it was flown too late. Ringed seals preferred high ice cover habitat (6 + /8 ice) and, within this habitat, favoured cracking ice and large floes. We found no consistent effect of either wind or cloud cover on habitat preference. We estimated a total of 1980 bearded seals and 140<|>880 ringed seals hauled out on the sea ice in June 1995. A recent review of the relationship between ringed seal and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations suggests that a visible population of this size should support a population of up to 1300 polar bears, which is in general agreement with the current estimate of 1250-1300 bears in western Hudson Bay.

Sedimentary pellets as an ice-cover proxy in a High Arctic ice-covered lake

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica D. Tomkins ◽  
Scott F. Lamoureux ◽  
Dermot Antoniades ◽  
Warwick F. Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Ice Cover ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Arctic Ice

scholarly journals Antarctic sea ice variability and trends, 1979–2010

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 931-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Parkinson ◽  
D. J. Cavalieri
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Coverage

Abstract. In sharp contrast to the decreasing sea ice coverage of the Arctic, in the Antarctic the sea ice cover has, on average, expanded since the late 1970s. More specifically, satellite passive-microwave data for the period November 1978–December 2010 reveal an overall positive trend in ice extents of 17 100 ± 2300 km2 yr−1. Much of the increase, at 13 700 ± 1500 km2 yr−1, has occurred in the region of the Ross Sea, with lesser contributions from the Weddell Sea and Indian Ocean. One region, that of the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas, has, like the Arctic, instead experienced significant sea ice decreases, with an overall ice extent trend of −8200 ± 1200 km2 yr−1. When examined through the annual cycle over the 32-yr period 1979–2010, the Southern Hemisphere sea ice cover as a whole experienced positive ice extent trends in every month, ranging in magnitude from a low of 9100 ± 6300 km2 yr−1 in February to a high of 24 700 ± 10 000 km2 yr−1 in May. The Ross Sea and Indian Ocean also had positive trends in each month, while the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas had negative trends in each month, and the Weddell Sea and Western Pacific Ocean had a mixture of positive and negative trends. Comparing ice-area results to ice-extent results, in each case the ice-area trend has the same sign as the ice-extent trend, but differences in the magnitudes of the two trends identify regions with overall increasing ice concentrations and others with overall decreasing ice concentrations. The strong pattern of decreasing ice coverage in the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas region and increasing ice coverage in the Ross Sea region is suggestive of changes in atmospheric circulation. This is a key topic for future research.

Seasonal habitat use of a lagoon by ringed seals Pusa hispida in Svalbard, Norway

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Vacquié-Garcia ◽  
C Lydersen ◽  
E Lydersen ◽  
GN Christensen ◽  
C Guinet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Ringed Seals ◽  
Pusa Hispida ◽  
Seasonal Habitat Use

scholarly journals Antarctic sea ice variability and trends, 1979–2010

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 871-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Parkinson ◽  
D. J. Cavalieri
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Coverage

Abstract. In sharp contrast to the decreasing sea ice coverage of the Arctic, in the Antarctic the sea ice cover has, on average, expanded since the late 1970s. More specifically, satellite passive-microwave data for the period November 1978–December 2010 reveal an overall positive trend in ice extents of 17 100 ± 2300 km2 yr−1. Much of the increase, at 13 700 ± 1500 km2 yr−1, has occurred in the region of the Ross Sea, with lesser contributions from the Weddell Sea and Indian Ocean. One region, that of the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas, has (like the Arctic) instead experienced significant sea ice decreases, with an overall ice extent trend of −8200 ± 1200 km2 yr−1. When examined through the annual cycle over the 32-yr period 1979–2010, the Southern Hemisphere sea ice cover as a whole experienced positive ice extent trends in every month, ranging in magnitude from a low of 9100 ± 6300 km2 yr−1 in February to a high of 24 700 ± 10 000 km2 yr−1 in May. The Ross Sea and Indian Ocean also had positive trends in each month, while the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas had negative trends in each month, and the Weddell Sea and western Pacific Ocean had a mixture of positive and negative trends. Comparing ice-area results to ice-extent results, in each case the ice-area trend has the same sign as the ice-extent trend, but the magnitudes of the two trends differ, and in some cases these differences allow inferences about the corresponding changes in sea ice concentrations. The strong pattern of decreasing ice coverage in the Bellingshausen/Amundsen Seas region and increasing ice coverage in the Ross Sea region is suggestive of changes in atmospheric circulation. This is a key topic for future research.

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