Haul-out Behavior of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in the San Juan Islands: Differences Between Mothers, Pups, and Lone Adults
Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are a previously endangered pinniped species native to coastal waters across the United States. Seals haul out onto shore year-round to rest, give birth, nurse, and molt. The San Juan Islands in the Salish have one of the highest densities of harbor seals in the world,...
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ftunivwashington:oai:digital.lib.washington.edu:1773/47171 2023-05-15T16:33:10+02:00 Haul-out Behavior of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in the San Juan Islands: Differences Between Mothers, Pups, and Lone Adults Ferguson, Anna Gowen, Bailey Batlle, Gabe 2021 http://hdl.handle.net/1773/47171 unknown FHL 492: Ecology and Conservation of Marine Birds and Mammals; http://hdl.handle.net/1773/47171 Harbor seal Phoca vitulina Yellow Island San Juan Islands Cattle Point 2021 ftunivwashington 2023-03-12T19:00:52Z Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are a previously endangered pinniped species native to coastal waters across the United States. Seals haul out onto shore year-round to rest, give birth, nurse, and molt. The San Juan Islands in the Salish have one of the highest densities of harbor seals in the world, making it a prime location to study their behavior. We conducted this study at two locations near San Juan Island, Yellow Island and Goose Island. Our research consisted of two key objectives: 1) contrasting vigilance and behavior among three categories of seals (lone adults, lone pups, and mom-pup pairs) at two locations and 2) contrasting the relationship between abundance and tide height at both locations. At both locations, we collected data on behavior and vigilance levels of different categories of seals (lone adults, lone pups, and mom-pup pairs), along with recording abundance and distribution of hauled out seals. Overall, behavior was consistent at both locations, and seals spent most of their time resting. We found that different haul out sites had a large effect on the vigilance levels, with higher levels in lone pups at Yellow Island, and higher levels in lone adults at Goose Island. Tide height at both locations also influenced seal haul out behavior, as fewer seals hauled out at high tides at Yellow Island, while more seals hauled out at higher tides at Goose Island, supporting that abundance is related to availability of haul out space. These findings are consistent with previous work that has shown harbor seals spend the majority of the time alternating between vigilant and non-vigilant resting, but highlights the role of specific haul out locations in behavioral patterns and distribution. Other/Unknown Material harbor seal Phoca vitulina University of Washington, Seattle: ResearchWorks Goose Island ENVELOPE(-55.748,-55.748,52.317,52.317) Lone ENVELOPE(11.982,11.982,65.105,65.105) San Juan |
institution |
Open Polar |
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University of Washington, Seattle: ResearchWorks |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwashington |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Harbor seal Phoca vitulina Yellow Island San Juan Islands Cattle Point |
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Harbor seal Phoca vitulina Yellow Island San Juan Islands Cattle Point Ferguson, Anna Gowen, Bailey Batlle, Gabe Haul-out Behavior of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in the San Juan Islands: Differences Between Mothers, Pups, and Lone Adults |
topic_facet |
Harbor seal Phoca vitulina Yellow Island San Juan Islands Cattle Point |
description |
Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are a previously endangered pinniped species native to coastal waters across the United States. Seals haul out onto shore year-round to rest, give birth, nurse, and molt. The San Juan Islands in the Salish have one of the highest densities of harbor seals in the world, making it a prime location to study their behavior. We conducted this study at two locations near San Juan Island, Yellow Island and Goose Island. Our research consisted of two key objectives: 1) contrasting vigilance and behavior among three categories of seals (lone adults, lone pups, and mom-pup pairs) at two locations and 2) contrasting the relationship between abundance and tide height at both locations. At both locations, we collected data on behavior and vigilance levels of different categories of seals (lone adults, lone pups, and mom-pup pairs), along with recording abundance and distribution of hauled out seals. Overall, behavior was consistent at both locations, and seals spent most of their time resting. We found that different haul out sites had a large effect on the vigilance levels, with higher levels in lone pups at Yellow Island, and higher levels in lone adults at Goose Island. Tide height at both locations also influenced seal haul out behavior, as fewer seals hauled out at high tides at Yellow Island, while more seals hauled out at higher tides at Goose Island, supporting that abundance is related to availability of haul out space. These findings are consistent with previous work that has shown harbor seals spend the majority of the time alternating between vigilant and non-vigilant resting, but highlights the role of specific haul out locations in behavioral patterns and distribution. |
author |
Ferguson, Anna Gowen, Bailey Batlle, Gabe |
author_facet |
Ferguson, Anna Gowen, Bailey Batlle, Gabe |
author_sort |
Ferguson, Anna |
title |
Haul-out Behavior of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in the San Juan Islands: Differences Between Mothers, Pups, and Lone Adults |
title_short |
Haul-out Behavior of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in the San Juan Islands: Differences Between Mothers, Pups, and Lone Adults |
title_full |
Haul-out Behavior of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in the San Juan Islands: Differences Between Mothers, Pups, and Lone Adults |
title_fullStr |
Haul-out Behavior of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in the San Juan Islands: Differences Between Mothers, Pups, and Lone Adults |
title_full_unstemmed |
Haul-out Behavior of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in the San Juan Islands: Differences Between Mothers, Pups, and Lone Adults |
title_sort |
haul-out behavior of harbor seals (phoca vitulina) in the san juan islands: differences between mothers, pups, and lone adults |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1773/47171 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-55.748,-55.748,52.317,52.317) ENVELOPE(11.982,11.982,65.105,65.105) |
geographic |
Goose Island Lone San Juan |
geographic_facet |
Goose Island Lone San Juan |
genre |
harbor seal Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
harbor seal Phoca vitulina |
op_relation |
FHL 492: Ecology and Conservation of Marine Birds and Mammals; http://hdl.handle.net/1773/47171 |
_version_ |
1766022887328710656 |