Population densities of pack ice seals in the Lazarev Sea, Antarctica

From 15 December 1992–4 January 1993 aerial surveys of ice seals were undertaken by Puma helicopter across the pack ice off Dronning Maud Land. The 31 transects of 1/2 nautical mile (n.m.) width were flown at an elevation of 200 ft and a ground speed of 60 knots and covered 805.6 n.m. 2 of pack ice....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Bester, M.N., Ferguson, J.W.H., Jonker, F.C.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2002
Subjects:
Geology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oceanography
Dronning Maud Land
Weddell
Lazarev
Lazarev Sea
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Antarctica
Crabeater Seals
Leopard Seals
Weddell Seals
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102002000676
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102002000676
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Summary:From 15 December 1992–4 January 1993 aerial surveys of ice seals were undertaken by Puma helicopter across the pack ice off Dronning Maud Land. The 31 transects of 1/2 nautical mile (n.m.) width were flown at an elevation of 200 ft and a ground speed of 60 knots and covered 805.6 n.m. 2 of pack ice. The overall species composition of the seals was 97.8% crabeater seals, 1.67% Ross seals, 0.34% leopard seals and 0.15% Weddell seals. The density abundance of seals was 2.47 n.m. −2 for crabeater, 0.01 n.m. −2 for leopard, 0.004 n.m. −2 for Weddell and 0.04 n.m. −2 for Ross seals. Leopard seals were largely found near the outer edge of the pack, Ross seals were absent only in the outer pack, whilst Weddell seals were virtually absent in the pack ice. Present throughout, crabeater seals and Ross seals showed a statistically significant preference for the inner pack, the reasons for this being unclear.

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