Ringed Seal Diet and Body Condition in the Amundsen Gulf region, Eastern Beaufort Sea
Diet from stomach contents and body condition from morphometric measurements were obtained for 169 (108 stomachs analysed) ringed seals (Pusa hispida) for the Amundsen Gulf region in the western Canadian Arctic from 2015 to 2018. Sampling was from subsistence-harvested seals from the three communiti...
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2021
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crarcticinstna:10.14430/arctic72447 2024-06-09T07:38:16+00:00 Ringed Seal Diet and Body Condition in the Amundsen Gulf region, Eastern Beaufort Sea Insley, Stephen J. Tauzer, Lila M. Halliday, William D. Illasiak, Joe Green, Ryan Kudlak, Adam Kuptana, Jeff 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic72447 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/72447/54930 unknown The Arctic Institute of North America http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ARCTIC volume 74, issue 2, page 127-138 ISSN 1923-1245 0004-0843 journal-article 2021 crarcticinstna https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic72447 2024-05-14T12:53:43Z Diet from stomach contents and body condition from morphometric measurements were obtained for 169 (108 stomachs analysed) ringed seals (Pusa hispida) for the Amundsen Gulf region in the western Canadian Arctic from 2015 to 2018. Sampling was from subsistence-harvested seals from the three communities of Paulatuk (spring, summer, and autumn), Sachs Harbour (summer), and Ulukhaktok (winter), Northwest Territories. Stomach contents were separated through sieves and by hand, and taxa identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible and weighed. Stomachs were fullest (by weight and prey count) in the autumn, which suggests that foraging was most intense and successful at that time. A total of 93 prey taxa, including 17 fish and 76 invertebrate species were identified. Several fish and invertebrate species were regularly found together, the most common being Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus), capelin (Mallotus villosus), and hyperiid amphipods (Themisto spp.). Condition measurements inferred from blubber thickness, although showing considerable variation among sites and years, had a seasonal relationship with maximal depth during the autumn and winter. Overall, the diet of ringed seals in Amundsen Gulf was broadly similar to those reported from other areas while also indicating some degree of regional specificity. When compared to the diet of ringed seals in the same area in the 1980s, the results presented here were more diverse, with new or increased numbers of subarctic species (e.g., saffron cod, Eleginus gracilis) found in the samples. This finding is a likely consequence of climate warming, as increasing numbers of subarctic species move north with warming ocean temperatures in the Arctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Amundsen Gulf Arctic Arctic cod Arctic Beaufort Sea Boreogadus saida Northwest Territories Paulatuk Pusa hispida ringed seal Sachs Harbour Subarctic Themisto Ulukhaktok Arctic Institute of North America Arctic Northwest Territories Paulatuk ENVELOPE(-123.985,-123.985,69.325,69.325) Sachs Harbour ENVELOPE(-125.280,-125.280,71.975,71.975) Ulukhaktok ENVELOPE(-117.772,-117.772,70.736,70.736) ARCTIC 74 2 127 138 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Arctic Institute of North America |
op_collection_id |
crarcticinstna |
language |
unknown |
description |
Diet from stomach contents and body condition from morphometric measurements were obtained for 169 (108 stomachs analysed) ringed seals (Pusa hispida) for the Amundsen Gulf region in the western Canadian Arctic from 2015 to 2018. Sampling was from subsistence-harvested seals from the three communities of Paulatuk (spring, summer, and autumn), Sachs Harbour (summer), and Ulukhaktok (winter), Northwest Territories. Stomach contents were separated through sieves and by hand, and taxa identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible and weighed. Stomachs were fullest (by weight and prey count) in the autumn, which suggests that foraging was most intense and successful at that time. A total of 93 prey taxa, including 17 fish and 76 invertebrate species were identified. Several fish and invertebrate species were regularly found together, the most common being Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus), capelin (Mallotus villosus), and hyperiid amphipods (Themisto spp.). Condition measurements inferred from blubber thickness, although showing considerable variation among sites and years, had a seasonal relationship with maximal depth during the autumn and winter. Overall, the diet of ringed seals in Amundsen Gulf was broadly similar to those reported from other areas while also indicating some degree of regional specificity. When compared to the diet of ringed seals in the same area in the 1980s, the results presented here were more diverse, with new or increased numbers of subarctic species (e.g., saffron cod, Eleginus gracilis) found in the samples. This finding is a likely consequence of climate warming, as increasing numbers of subarctic species move north with warming ocean temperatures in the Arctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Insley, Stephen J. Tauzer, Lila M. Halliday, William D. Illasiak, Joe Green, Ryan Kudlak, Adam Kuptana, Jeff |
spellingShingle |
Insley, Stephen J. Tauzer, Lila M. Halliday, William D. Illasiak, Joe Green, Ryan Kudlak, Adam Kuptana, Jeff Ringed Seal Diet and Body Condition in the Amundsen Gulf region, Eastern Beaufort Sea |
author_facet |
Insley, Stephen J. Tauzer, Lila M. Halliday, William D. Illasiak, Joe Green, Ryan Kudlak, Adam Kuptana, Jeff |
author_sort |
Insley, Stephen J. |
title |
Ringed Seal Diet and Body Condition in the Amundsen Gulf region, Eastern Beaufort Sea |
title_short |
Ringed Seal Diet and Body Condition in the Amundsen Gulf region, Eastern Beaufort Sea |
title_full |
Ringed Seal Diet and Body Condition in the Amundsen Gulf region, Eastern Beaufort Sea |
title_fullStr |
Ringed Seal Diet and Body Condition in the Amundsen Gulf region, Eastern Beaufort Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ringed Seal Diet and Body Condition in the Amundsen Gulf region, Eastern Beaufort Sea |
title_sort |
ringed seal diet and body condition in the amundsen gulf region, eastern beaufort sea |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic72447 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/72447/54930 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-123.985,-123.985,69.325,69.325) ENVELOPE(-125.280,-125.280,71.975,71.975) ENVELOPE(-117.772,-117.772,70.736,70.736) |
geographic |
Arctic Northwest Territories Paulatuk Sachs Harbour Ulukhaktok |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Northwest Territories Paulatuk Sachs Harbour Ulukhaktok |
genre |
Amundsen Gulf Arctic Arctic cod Arctic Beaufort Sea Boreogadus saida Northwest Territories Paulatuk Pusa hispida ringed seal Sachs Harbour Subarctic Themisto Ulukhaktok |
genre_facet |
Amundsen Gulf Arctic Arctic cod Arctic Beaufort Sea Boreogadus saida Northwest Territories Paulatuk Pusa hispida ringed seal Sachs Harbour Subarctic Themisto Ulukhaktok |
op_source |
ARCTIC volume 74, issue 2, page 127-138 ISSN 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic72447 |
container_title |
ARCTIC |
container_volume |
74 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
127 |
op_container_end_page |
138 |
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1801371329897693184 |