Revised 8/8/97 SPOTTED SEAL (Phoca largha): Alaska Stock
Spotted seals are distributed along the continental shelf of the Beaufort, Chukchi, Bering, and Okhotsk Seas south to the northern Yellow Sea and western Sea of Japan (Shaughnessy and Fay 1977, Fig. 10). Little is known of their winter distribution and migration routes, although satellite tagging st...
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| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.294.5588 http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/sars/ak1997sesp.pdf |
| Summary: | Spotted seals are distributed along the continental shelf of the Beaufort, Chukchi, Bering, and Okhotsk Seas south to the northern Yellow Sea and western Sea of Japan (Shaughnessy and Fay 1977, Fig. 10). Little is known of their winter distribution and migration routes, although satellite tagging studies on a small number of animals in Alaska have been completed. These studies indicate that spotted seals migrate south from the Chukchi Sea utilizing haul outs in both Russia and Alaska and overwinter in the Bering Sea along the ice edge (Lowry et al. 1994). During spring they inhabit mainly the southern margin of the ice, with movement to coastal habitats after the retreat of the sea ice (Fay 1974, Shaughnessy and Fay 1977). In summer, spotted seals may be found as far north as 69-72°N in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas (Porsild |
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