Habitat selection and seasonal movements of young bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) in the Bering Sea

PloS One
Michael F CameronPeter Boveng

Abstract

The first year of life is typically the most critical to a pinniped's survival, especially for Arctic phocids which are weaned at only a few weeks of age and left to locate and capture prey on their own. Their seasonal movements and habitat selection are therefore important factors in their survival. During a cooperative effort between scientists and subsistence hunters in October 2004, 2005, and 2006, 13 female and 13 male young (i.e., age <2) bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) were tagged with satellite-linked dive recorders (SDRs) in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. Shortly after being released, most seals moved south with the advancing sea-ice through the Bering Strait and into the Bering Sea where they spent the winter and early spring. The SDRs of 17 (8 female and 9 male) seals provided frequent high-quality positions in the Bering Sea; their data were used in our analysis. To investigate habitat selection, we simulated 20 tracks per seal by randomly selecting from the pooled distributions of the absolute bearings and swim speeds of the tagged seals. For each point in the observed and simulated tracks, we obtained the depth, sea-ice concentration, and the distances to sea-ice, open water, the shelf break and coastline. Using logi...Continue Reading

References

Nov 1, 1966·Cryobiology·E T Feltz, F H Fay
Jun 12, 2008·Ecology·Devin S JohnsonJohn W Durban
Feb 7, 2014·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Subhash R LeleMark S Boyce
Feb 25, 2015·Movement Ecology·Brett T McClintockJuan M Morales
Apr 3, 2015·Methods in Ecology and Evolution·Jonathan R PottsMark A Lewis

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Citations

Mar 2, 2019·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Alexey A DudarevSveta Yamin-Pasternak
Mar 5, 2021·Conservation Physiology·Nicole M ThometzColleen Reichmuth

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
SPLASH

Software Mentioned

ArcGIS Desktop
Argos
Wildlife Computers DAP
R
Oracle

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