Summer habitat selection by ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in the drifting sea ice of the northern Barents Sea
Ringed seals are a central component of the Arctic ecosystem; they have a circumpolar distribution and are both important predators of lower trophic animals (invertebrates and fishes) and prey for polar bears and coastal human populations. They depend on sea ice for reproduction, moulting and restin...
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Norwegian Polar Institute
2019
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f413025a85094ab68ae05cb14a933cb7 2023-05-15T14:59:10+02:00 Summer habitat selection by ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in the drifting sea ice of the northern Barents Sea Karen Lone Charmain D. Hamilton Jon Aars Christian Lydersen Kit M. Kovacs 2019-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3483 https://doaj.org/article/f413025a85094ab68ae05cb14a933cb7 EN eng Norwegian Polar Institute https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/3483/9142 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v38.3483 https://doaj.org/article/f413025a85094ab68ae05cb14a933cb7 Polar Research, Vol 38, Iss 0, Pp 1-10 (2019) Arctic Svalbard climate change marginal ice zone RSF sea ice-associated marine mammals Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3483 2022-12-31T11:50:00Z Ringed seals are a central component of the Arctic ecosystem; they have a circumpolar distribution and are both important predators of lower trophic animals (invertebrates and fishes) and prey for polar bears and coastal human populations. They depend on sea ice for reproduction, moulting and resting, and they consume significant amounts of ice-associated prey. The population of ringed seals in Svalbard, Norway, uses both coastal and offshore habitats, the latter being important during seasonal migrations undertaken by some animals, mostly juveniles. This study examined habitat preferences of 18 satellite-tracked ringed seals (mostly young animals, but also a few adults) during late summer/autumn migrations to the drift ice in the northern Barents Sea. Resource selection functions showed that ringed seals preferred being close to the 50% sea-ice concentration threshold; a 120 km increase in the distance to the 50% sea-ice concentration threshold halved the probability of selection of a given area. In addition, higher sea-ice concentrations (80–100%) were between 1.4 and 2.2 times as likely to be selected as lower sea-ice concentrations or open water. Ringed seals use the marginal ice zone of the Barents Sea during summer/autumn. This offshore habitat has shifted northward during recent decades, which is likely causing negative effects on ringed seals by increasing the energetic cost of offshore migrations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Barents Sea Climate change Polar Research Pusa hispida Sea ice Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Barents Sea Norway Svalbard Polar Research 38 0 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic Svalbard climate change marginal ice zone RSF sea ice-associated marine mammals Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Svalbard climate change marginal ice zone RSF sea ice-associated marine mammals Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 Karen Lone Charmain D. Hamilton Jon Aars Christian Lydersen Kit M. Kovacs Summer habitat selection by ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in the drifting sea ice of the northern Barents Sea |
topic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard climate change marginal ice zone RSF sea ice-associated marine mammals Environmental sciences GE1-350 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
Ringed seals are a central component of the Arctic ecosystem; they have a circumpolar distribution and are both important predators of lower trophic animals (invertebrates and fishes) and prey for polar bears and coastal human populations. They depend on sea ice for reproduction, moulting and resting, and they consume significant amounts of ice-associated prey. The population of ringed seals in Svalbard, Norway, uses both coastal and offshore habitats, the latter being important during seasonal migrations undertaken by some animals, mostly juveniles. This study examined habitat preferences of 18 satellite-tracked ringed seals (mostly young animals, but also a few adults) during late summer/autumn migrations to the drift ice in the northern Barents Sea. Resource selection functions showed that ringed seals preferred being close to the 50% sea-ice concentration threshold; a 120 km increase in the distance to the 50% sea-ice concentration threshold halved the probability of selection of a given area. In addition, higher sea-ice concentrations (80–100%) were between 1.4 and 2.2 times as likely to be selected as lower sea-ice concentrations or open water. Ringed seals use the marginal ice zone of the Barents Sea during summer/autumn. This offshore habitat has shifted northward during recent decades, which is likely causing negative effects on ringed seals by increasing the energetic cost of offshore migrations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Karen Lone Charmain D. Hamilton Jon Aars Christian Lydersen Kit M. Kovacs |
author_facet |
Karen Lone Charmain D. Hamilton Jon Aars Christian Lydersen Kit M. Kovacs |
author_sort |
Karen Lone |
title |
Summer habitat selection by ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in the drifting sea ice of the northern Barents Sea |
title_short |
Summer habitat selection by ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in the drifting sea ice of the northern Barents Sea |
title_full |
Summer habitat selection by ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in the drifting sea ice of the northern Barents Sea |
title_fullStr |
Summer habitat selection by ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in the drifting sea ice of the northern Barents Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Summer habitat selection by ringed seals (Pusa hispida) in the drifting sea ice of the northern Barents Sea |
title_sort |
summer habitat selection by ringed seals (pusa hispida) in the drifting sea ice of the northern barents sea |
publisher |
Norwegian Polar Institute |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3483 https://doaj.org/article/f413025a85094ab68ae05cb14a933cb7 |
geographic |
Arctic Barents Sea Norway Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Norway Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Barents Sea Climate change Polar Research Pusa hispida Sea ice Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Climate change Polar Research Pusa hispida Sea ice Svalbard |
op_source |
Polar Research, Vol 38, Iss 0, Pp 1-10 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/3483/9142 https://doaj.org/toc/1751-8369 1751-8369 doi:10.33265/polar.v38.3483 https://doaj.org/article/f413025a85094ab68ae05cb14a933cb7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3483 |
container_title |
Polar Research |
container_volume |
38 |
container_issue |
0 |
_version_ |
1766331307431821312 |