Seasonal Movements and Relative Abundance of Bearded Seals (Erignathus barbatus) in the Coastal Waters of the Chukotka Peninsula

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Author: Melnikov, Vladimir V.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 2017
• Subjects: bearded seal; shore-based visual observations; Chukotka Peninsula; Gulf of Anadyr; Chukchi Sea; migration; phoque barbu; observations visuelles à partir de la côte; péninsule de Tchoukotcha; golfe de l’Anadyr; mer des Tchouktches; лахтак; береговые наблюдения; Чукотский полуостров; Анадырский залив; Чукотское море; миграции; Anadyr; Anadyr’; Arctic; Barbu; Bering Strait; Nunligran; Pacific; Phoques; Anadyr'; Chukchi; Chukotka; Erignathus barbatus; Mer des Tchouktches; Pacific Arctic; Phoque barbu; Tchouktche*
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/67720

Information about bearded seal seasonal distribution in the Pacific Arctic is limited. Bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus Exleben, 1777) from coastal sites along the southern, eastern, and northern Chukotka Peninsula, Russian Federation, were observed most seasons during 1993 – 96, 1998 – 2000, 2002 – 05, and 2010 – 11. These observations provide spatial and temporal information about bearded seal seasonal distribution, movements, and relative numbers in the coastal zones. In winter, bearded seals aggregate on the young ice in the northern part of the Gulf of Anadyr. Numbers gradually increase during March. In springtime (April–May), bearded seals in the northern Gulf of Anadyr are relatively numerous around Nunligran (Cape Achen), but the number is highly variable across years. During spring bearded seals move eastward along the coast from the northern part of the Gulf of Anadyr towards the Bering Strait and then to the north, as the marginal ice edge zone retreats north. These movements to the east and north continue in ice-free water, and by August, the spring migration of bearded seals along the coast of the Chukotka Peninsula ends. In the summer months of August and September, few bearded seals are present in this coastal zone. The southward autumn migration of bearded seals is not evident near the coast, which suggests that it occurs farther from shore. Il existe peu de renseignements sur la distribution saisonnière du phoque barbu dans le secteur pacifique de l’Arctique. Des phoques barbus (Erignathus barbatus Exleben, 1777) ont été observés sur divers sites côtiers tout au long du sud, de l’est et du nord de la péninsule de Tchoukotcha, Fédération de Russie, pendant les années 1993-1996, 1998-2000, 2002-2005 et 2010-2011. Ces observations permettent d’obtenir des données spatiales et temporelles au sujet de la distribution saisonnière et des déplacements du phoque barbu, ainsi qu’au sujet du nombre relatif de phoques barbus dans les zones côtières. L’hiver, les phoques barbus se rassemblent sur la ...