The Food of Fur Seals in the Eastern Bering Sea

1957 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ford Wilke ◽  
Karl W. Kenyon
Keyword(s):  
Bering Sea ◽  
Eastern Bering Sea ◽  
Fur Seals

scholarly journals First-Year Survival of Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) Can Be Explained by Pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) Catches in the Eastern Bering Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 975
Author(s):  
Jeffrey W. Short ◽  
Harold J. Geiger ◽  
Lowell W. Fritz ◽  
Jonathan J. Warrenchuk
Keyword(s):  
Bering Sea ◽  
First Year ◽  
Callorhinus Ursinus ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Fishing Activity ◽  
Eastern Bering Sea ◽  
Fur Seals ◽  
Fur Seal ◽  
Seal Population ◽  
Pribilof Islands

The Pribilof northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) herd in the eastern Bering Sea has declined by ~70% since the 1970s, for elusive reasons. Competition for pollock (Gadus chalcogramma) with the commercial fishery has been suspected as a contributing factor, but no correlative relationship between fishing activity and fur seal population declines has heretofore been demonstrated. Here, we present evidence for a moderately strong inverse relationship between fishery catches of pollock and first-year survival of fur seals, based on three different approaches to evaluation. We suspect this relationship results from the dependence of lactating female fur seals on locating dense and extensive schools of pollock near the Pribilof Islands to efficiently provide nutrition for their pups, because the pollock fishery also targets these same schools, and when fished, the remnants of these schools are fragmented and dispersed, making them more difficult for fur seals to locate and exploit. Inadequately fed pups are less likely to survive their initial independent residence at sea as they migrate south from the Pribilof Islands in the fall. Our results imply that pollock catches above ~1,000,000 t within ~300 km of the Pribilof Islands may continue to suppress first-year survival of Pribilof fur seals below the estimated equilibrium survival value of 0.50, leading to continued decline of the population.

The physiological adaptations and toxin profiles of the toxic Alexandrium fundyense on the eastern Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea shelves

Harmful Algae ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 63 ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masafumi Natsuike ◽  
Hiroshi Oikawa ◽  
Kohei Matsuno ◽  
Atsushi Yamaguchi ◽  
Ichiro Imai
Keyword(s):  
Bering Sea ◽  
Chukchi Sea ◽  
Alexandrium Fundyense ◽  
Eastern Bering Sea ◽  
Physiological Adaptations

scholarly journals Predicted shifts of groundfish distribution in the Eastern Bering Sea under climate change, with implications for fish populations and fisheries management

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher N Rooper ◽  
Ivonne Ortiz ◽  
Albert J Hermann ◽  
Ned Laman ◽  
Wei Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bering Sea ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Species Distribution Modelling ◽  
Fish Populations ◽  
Trawl Survey ◽  
Climate Scenarios ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Eastern Bering Sea ◽  
Northern Latitudes ◽  
Distribution Shifts

Abstract Climate-related distribution shifts for marine species are, in general, amplified in northern latitudes. The objective of this study was to predict future distributions of commercially important species in the eastern Bering Sea under six climate scenarios, by incorporating predictions of future oceanographic conditions. We used species distribution modelling to determine potential distribution changes in four time periods (2013–2017, 2030–2039, 2060–2069, and 2090-2099) relative to 1982–2012 for 16 marine fish and invertebrates. Most species were predicted to have significant shifts in the centre of gravity of the predicted abundance, the area occupied, and the proportion of the predicted abundance found in the standard bottom trawl survey area. On average the shifts were modest, averaging 35.2 km (ranging from 1 to 202 km). There were significant differences in the predicted trend for distribution metrics among climate scenarios, with the most extensive changes in distribution resulting from Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 climate scenarios. The variability in distributional shifts among years and climate scenarios was high, although the magnitudes were low. This study provides a basis for understanding where fish populations might expand or contract in future years. This will provide managers’ information that can help guide appropriate actions under warming conditions.

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