Status and biology of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ) in Svalbard
Harbour seals in Svalbard are the northernmost population of this species. This small population is comprised of ca. 1,000 individuals, most of which reside along the west coast of Prins Karls Forland (78°20’N). Satellite tracking studies have shown that adults are resident. Birthing occurs in the l...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:a8eeaeb51bc24e8abfd438313cd164d8 2023-05-15T15:27:37+02:00 Status and biology of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ) in Svalbard Christian Lydersen Kit M Kovacs 2010-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2671 https://doaj.org/article/a8eeaeb51bc24e8abfd438313cd164d8 EN eng Septentrio Academic Publishing https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2671 https://doaj.org/toc/1560-2206 https://doaj.org/toc/2309-2491 1560-2206 2309-2491 doi:10.7557/3.2671 https://doaj.org/article/a8eeaeb51bc24e8abfd438313cd164d8 NAMMCO Scientific Publications, Vol 8, Iss 0, Pp 47-60 (2010) harbour seals Svalbard Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2671 2022-12-31T05:19:42Z Harbour seals in Svalbard are the northernmost population of this species. This small population is comprised of ca. 1,000 individuals, most of which reside along the west coast of Prins Karls Forland (78°20’N). Satellite tracking studies have shown that adults are resident. Birthing occurs in the latter half of June. Newborns weigh about 11 kg and gain an average of 0.7 kg/d during the nursing period. Haulout patterns in Svalbard harbour seals are influenced by date (season), time of day, tidal cycle and temperature. Moulting takes place in early fall, first among juveniles, then in adult females and finally in adult males. Feeding studies show that polar cod (Boreogadus saida) is the dominant prey in terms of numbers, while Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is the dominant prey based on biomass, at least during the early autumn. Growth curves display significant sexual dimorphism with asymptotic values for standard length and body mass being greater formales. Testosterone levels inmales showed an abrupt increase at 6 years of age, while estradiol levels in females increased abruptly from age 4 years. The reproductive rate for adult females was 0.93. Longevity of Svalbard harbour seals is very short compared with populations from other areas. Article in Journal/Newspaper atlantic cod Boreogadus saida Gadus morhua Phoca vitulina polar cod Prins Karls Forland Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Prins Karls Forland ENVELOPE(11.175,11.175,78.543,78.543) Svalbard NAMMCO Scientific Publications 8 47 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
harbour seals Svalbard Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
harbour seals Svalbard Ecology QH540-549.5 Christian Lydersen Kit M Kovacs Status and biology of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ) in Svalbard |
topic_facet |
harbour seals Svalbard Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Harbour seals in Svalbard are the northernmost population of this species. This small population is comprised of ca. 1,000 individuals, most of which reside along the west coast of Prins Karls Forland (78°20’N). Satellite tracking studies have shown that adults are resident. Birthing occurs in the latter half of June. Newborns weigh about 11 kg and gain an average of 0.7 kg/d during the nursing period. Haulout patterns in Svalbard harbour seals are influenced by date (season), time of day, tidal cycle and temperature. Moulting takes place in early fall, first among juveniles, then in adult females and finally in adult males. Feeding studies show that polar cod (Boreogadus saida) is the dominant prey in terms of numbers, while Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is the dominant prey based on biomass, at least during the early autumn. Growth curves display significant sexual dimorphism with asymptotic values for standard length and body mass being greater formales. Testosterone levels inmales showed an abrupt increase at 6 years of age, while estradiol levels in females increased abruptly from age 4 years. The reproductive rate for adult females was 0.93. Longevity of Svalbard harbour seals is very short compared with populations from other areas. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Christian Lydersen Kit M Kovacs |
author_facet |
Christian Lydersen Kit M Kovacs |
author_sort |
Christian Lydersen |
title |
Status and biology of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ) in Svalbard |
title_short |
Status and biology of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ) in Svalbard |
title_full |
Status and biology of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ) in Svalbard |
title_fullStr |
Status and biology of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ) in Svalbard |
title_full_unstemmed |
Status and biology of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ) in Svalbard |
title_sort |
status and biology of harbour seals ( phoca vitulina ) in svalbard |
publisher |
Septentrio Academic Publishing |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2671 https://doaj.org/article/a8eeaeb51bc24e8abfd438313cd164d8 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(11.175,11.175,78.543,78.543) |
geographic |
Prins Karls Forland Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Prins Karls Forland Svalbard |
genre |
atlantic cod Boreogadus saida Gadus morhua Phoca vitulina polar cod Prins Karls Forland Svalbard |
genre_facet |
atlantic cod Boreogadus saida Gadus morhua Phoca vitulina polar cod Prins Karls Forland Svalbard |
op_source |
NAMMCO Scientific Publications, Vol 8, Iss 0, Pp 47-60 (2010) |
op_relation |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2671 https://doaj.org/toc/1560-2206 https://doaj.org/toc/2309-2491 1560-2206 2309-2491 doi:10.7557/3.2671 https://doaj.org/article/a8eeaeb51bc24e8abfd438313cd164d8 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2671 |
container_title |
NAMMCO Scientific Publications |
container_volume |
8 |
container_start_page |
47 |
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1766358030839971840 |