THE ROLE OF PREDATION IN THE ECOLOGY OF THE RINGED SEAL IN BARROW STRAIT, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA
A bstract Predation on ringed seals ( Phoca hispida ) was examined in Barrow Strait between March and May 1984 to 1986. Polar bears were the most important predator. Evidence of bear predation was observed at 18–30% of the ringed seal subnivean structures we located. Ten to 24% of predation attempts...
| Published in: | Marine Mammal Science |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1991
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1991.tb00559.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1748-7692.1991.tb00559.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1991.tb00559.x |
| Summary: | A bstract Predation on ringed seals ( Phoca hispida ) was examined in Barrow Strait between March and May 1984 to 1986. Polar bears were the most important predator. Evidence of bear predation was observed at 18–30% of the ringed seal subnivean structures we located. Ten to 24% of predation attempts were successful, with pups making up 75% to 100% of the seals killed. Bears killed an average of 0.08 to 0.51 seals/km 2 , which comprised 8 to 44% of the estimated annual pup production. Bears were successful on average in 11.3% of their attempts to kill pups hidden inside birth lairs. On southeast Baffin Island where snow was soft and pups were exposed, bears were successful in 33.5% of their attempts to kill a seal. Negative correlations were found between mean snow depth and predation by polar bears ( r = ‐0.896, P = 0.04, n = 5) in 1985, and between snow depth and the number of predation attempts ( r = ‐0.613, P = 0.02, n = 14) in 1986. |
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