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Accession Number
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PB2012-114705
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Title
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Biology of the Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida) in Alaska, 1960-2010.
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Publication Date
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Mar 2011
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Media Count
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72p
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Personal Author
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J. Citta J. Crawford L. Quakenbush
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Abstract
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The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has been monitoring the health and status of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) in Alaska since 1960 by collecting information and samples from the Alaska Native subsistence harvest. This monitoring program is especially important because agencies have yet to overcome the logistical constraints necessary to estimate seal abundance in remote, ice covered waters. As such, reliable estimates of bearded seal abundance or population trend are lacking. Retrospective analyses of data provided by this monitoring program allow us to examine how parameters that affect population size may vary in time and how current conditions compare with past conditions. Parameters we monitor that are indicative of population health or status include growth rate, body condition, diet, age distribution, sex ratio, age of maturation, and pregnancy rate. Since 2000, ADF&G has also conducted surveys for local knowledge and hunter preferences and analyzed tissue samples for contaminants and disease. All of these collections rely on the cooperation of coastal subsistence communities.
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Keywords
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Age distributions
Alaska
Body condition
Contaminants
Diet
Disease
Growth rates
Maturity
Pregnancy rate
Ringed seal
Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida)
Sex ratios
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Source Agency
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National Marine Fisheries Service
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NTIS Subject Category
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48B - Natural Resource Management
57Z - Zoology
55E - Physical Meteorology
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Corporate Author
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Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Fairbanks. Arctic Marine Mammal Program.
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Document Type
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Technical report
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Title Note
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N/A
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NTIS Issue Number
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1226
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Contract Number
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N/A
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