Natural and human effects on harbor seal abundance and spatial distribution in an Alaskan glacial fjord
Abstract Tidewater glacial fjords support the largest populations of harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina richardii ) in Alaska and are a prime destination for tour ships. Chronic disturbance from ships, however subtle, could impact long‐term population stability. We examined variation in abundance and dis...
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crwiley:10.1111/mms.12140 2024-09-15T18:10:40+00:00 Natural and human effects on harbor seal abundance and spatial distribution in an Alaskan glacial fjord Jansen, John K. Boveng, Peter L. Ver Hoef, Jay M. Dahle, Shawn P. Bengtson, John L. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12140 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fmms.12140 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mms.12140 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/mms.12140 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Marine Mammal Science volume 31, issue 1, page 66-89 ISSN 0824-0469 1748-7692 journal-article 2014 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12140 2024-08-27T04:27:58Z Abstract Tidewater glacial fjords support the largest populations of harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina richardii ) in Alaska and are a prime destination for tour ships. Chronic disturbance from ships, however subtle, could impact long‐term population stability. We examined variation in abundance and distribution of harbor seals on floating ice in Disenchantment Bay, Alaska, a tour ship destination for over a century with near daily visitation by ships in the spring/summer over the last decade. Counts of seals by aerial transect showed a sharp decline in May, prior to pupping and the first ships arriving; counts rebounded by the end of June remaining high until August. Seal distribution and abundance peaked in 5–7 tenths ice cover; total area of ice cover showed no effect. Despite regular flushing of seals by ships, we found no broad‐scale patterns in seal abundance and distribution that could be explained by ship presence. We cannot rule out mechanisms of long‐term disturbance, difficult to detect and that might explain notable differences with other, similar sites. Population declines at disturbed glacial sites and the still rising popularity of vessel‐based tourism indicate a need for individual‐based studies on how seals respond to the dynamics of glacial ice environments and human‐caused stresses. Article in Journal/Newspaper harbor seal Phoca vitulina Alaska Wiley Online Library Marine Mammal Science 31 1 66 89 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
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English |
description |
Abstract Tidewater glacial fjords support the largest populations of harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina richardii ) in Alaska and are a prime destination for tour ships. Chronic disturbance from ships, however subtle, could impact long‐term population stability. We examined variation in abundance and distribution of harbor seals on floating ice in Disenchantment Bay, Alaska, a tour ship destination for over a century with near daily visitation by ships in the spring/summer over the last decade. Counts of seals by aerial transect showed a sharp decline in May, prior to pupping and the first ships arriving; counts rebounded by the end of June remaining high until August. Seal distribution and abundance peaked in 5–7 tenths ice cover; total area of ice cover showed no effect. Despite regular flushing of seals by ships, we found no broad‐scale patterns in seal abundance and distribution that could be explained by ship presence. We cannot rule out mechanisms of long‐term disturbance, difficult to detect and that might explain notable differences with other, similar sites. Population declines at disturbed glacial sites and the still rising popularity of vessel‐based tourism indicate a need for individual‐based studies on how seals respond to the dynamics of glacial ice environments and human‐caused stresses. |
author2 |
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jansen, John K. Boveng, Peter L. Ver Hoef, Jay M. Dahle, Shawn P. Bengtson, John L. |
spellingShingle |
Jansen, John K. Boveng, Peter L. Ver Hoef, Jay M. Dahle, Shawn P. Bengtson, John L. Natural and human effects on harbor seal abundance and spatial distribution in an Alaskan glacial fjord |
author_facet |
Jansen, John K. Boveng, Peter L. Ver Hoef, Jay M. Dahle, Shawn P. Bengtson, John L. |
author_sort |
Jansen, John K. |
title |
Natural and human effects on harbor seal abundance and spatial distribution in an Alaskan glacial fjord |
title_short |
Natural and human effects on harbor seal abundance and spatial distribution in an Alaskan glacial fjord |
title_full |
Natural and human effects on harbor seal abundance and spatial distribution in an Alaskan glacial fjord |
title_fullStr |
Natural and human effects on harbor seal abundance and spatial distribution in an Alaskan glacial fjord |
title_full_unstemmed |
Natural and human effects on harbor seal abundance and spatial distribution in an Alaskan glacial fjord |
title_sort |
natural and human effects on harbor seal abundance and spatial distribution in an alaskan glacial fjord |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12140 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fmms.12140 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mms.12140 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/mms.12140 |
genre |
harbor seal Phoca vitulina Alaska |
genre_facet |
harbor seal Phoca vitulina Alaska |
op_source |
Marine Mammal Science volume 31, issue 1, page 66-89 ISSN 0824-0469 1748-7692 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12140 |
container_title |
Marine Mammal Science |
container_volume |
31 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
66 |
op_container_end_page |
89 |
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1810448251455799296 |