Temporal Changes in the Reproductive Potential of Female Harp Seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus )
The Northwest Atlantic harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) population declined by more than 50% between 1952 and the early 1970s. Biological sampling of female reproductive tracts began in 1951 and has continued to the present. We reexamined the extent to which mean age of maturity and fertility ra...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
1981
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f81-071 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f81-071 |
id |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/f81-071 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/f81-071 2024-04-07T07:53:01+00:00 Temporal Changes in the Reproductive Potential of Female Harp Seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus ) Bowen, W. Don Capstick, Charles K. Sergeant, David E. 1981 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f81-071 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f81-071 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences volume 38, issue 5, page 495-503 ISSN 0706-652X 1205-7533 Aquatic Science Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1981 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/f81-071 2024-03-08T00:37:36Z The Northwest Atlantic harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) population declined by more than 50% between 1952 and the early 1970s. Biological sampling of female reproductive tracts began in 1951 and has continued to the present. We reexamined the extent to which mean age of maturity and fertility rate have changed as population size declined. Mean age of maturity declined from ~ 6.2 yr in 1952 to 4.5 yr in 1979. During this same period fertility rate increased from 85 to 94%. Both parameters have changed concurrently with a decline in numbers. Although it is likely that density-dependent mechanisms are involved, empirical data are lacking.Key words: harp seals, Pagophilus groenlandicus; maturity, fertility, density-dependence Article in Journal/Newspaper Harp Seal Northwest Atlantic Pagophilus groenlandicus Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 38 5 495 503 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Aquatic Science Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Aquatic Science Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Bowen, W. Don Capstick, Charles K. Sergeant, David E. Temporal Changes in the Reproductive Potential of Female Harp Seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus ) |
topic_facet |
Aquatic Science Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
The Northwest Atlantic harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) population declined by more than 50% between 1952 and the early 1970s. Biological sampling of female reproductive tracts began in 1951 and has continued to the present. We reexamined the extent to which mean age of maturity and fertility rate have changed as population size declined. Mean age of maturity declined from ~ 6.2 yr in 1952 to 4.5 yr in 1979. During this same period fertility rate increased from 85 to 94%. Both parameters have changed concurrently with a decline in numbers. Although it is likely that density-dependent mechanisms are involved, empirical data are lacking.Key words: harp seals, Pagophilus groenlandicus; maturity, fertility, density-dependence |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bowen, W. Don Capstick, Charles K. Sergeant, David E. |
author_facet |
Bowen, W. Don Capstick, Charles K. Sergeant, David E. |
author_sort |
Bowen, W. Don |
title |
Temporal Changes in the Reproductive Potential of Female Harp Seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus ) |
title_short |
Temporal Changes in the Reproductive Potential of Female Harp Seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus ) |
title_full |
Temporal Changes in the Reproductive Potential of Female Harp Seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus ) |
title_fullStr |
Temporal Changes in the Reproductive Potential of Female Harp Seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus ) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Temporal Changes in the Reproductive Potential of Female Harp Seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus ) |
title_sort |
temporal changes in the reproductive potential of female harp seals ( pagophilus groenlandicus ) |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1981 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f81-071 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f81-071 |
genre |
Harp Seal Northwest Atlantic Pagophilus groenlandicus |
genre_facet |
Harp Seal Northwest Atlantic Pagophilus groenlandicus |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences volume 38, issue 5, page 495-503 ISSN 0706-652X 1205-7533 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/f81-071 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
container_volume |
38 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
495 |
op_container_end_page |
503 |
_version_ |
1795668613702615040 |