Evaluating breeding habitat and populations of ringed seals Phoca hispida in Svalbard fjords

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Authors: Lydersen, Christian, Ryg, Morten
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1991
• Subjects: Sassenfjorden; Svalbard; Tempelfjorden; Phoca hispida; Polar Record; ringed seal; Sassenfjord*; Tempelfjord*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400012614; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400012614

Abstract In Tempelfjorden and Sassenfjorden, Svalbard, 12 March to4 April 1990, a Siberian husky dog was used to detect ringed seal breathing holes in the ice, using random stratified sampling to sample 20% (40 km 2 ) of the total area. The area was estimated to contain 997 ringed seal breathing holes, corresponding to 293 ringed seals. A maximum of 185 pups were born in the area. A breeding condition factor was constructed to enable comparisons of yearly and areal variation in ice cover and precipitation within ringed seal breeding habitats.