Inter-Research > MEPS > v705 > p1-20  
MEPS
Marine Ecology Progress Series

via Mailchimp

MEPS 705:1-20 (2023)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14252

FEATURE ARTICLE
Characteristics of ringed seal Pusa hispida (‘natchiq’) denning habitat in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, during a year of limited sea ice and snow

Jessica M. Lindsay1,*, Donna D. W. Hauser2, Andrew R. Mahoney3, Kristin L. Laidre1,4, John Goodwin5, Cyrus Harris5, Robert J. Schaeffer5, Roswell Schaeffer Sr.5, Alex V. Whiting5, Peter L. Boveng6, Nathan J. M. Laxague7, Sarah Betcher8, Ajit Subramaniam7, Carson R. Witte7, Christopher J. Zappa7

1School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
2International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
3Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
4Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
5Native Village of Kotzebue, Kotzebue, AK 99752, USA
6Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA 98115, USA
7Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
8Farthest North Films, Paia, HI 96779, USA
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: Sea ice and snow are essential to Arctic ecosystems, playing key roles in the lives of Arctic marine mammals and the Indigenous Peoples who rely on them. Ringed seals Pusa hispida (‘natchiq’ in Iñupiaq) use snow-covered dens on sea ice for pupping, but quantitative information on denning habitat requirements is limited, and it is unknown how changes in snow depth and sea-ice extent will impact ringed seals. Here, an Indigenous Elder Advisory Council and a multidisciplinary group of scientists used knowledge co-production to quantify fine-scale ringed seal habitat selection patterns in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska (USA), during a year of unprecedentedly limited snow and sea-ice availability. Together, we conducted unoccupied aerial vehicle-based surveys during spring 2019 and related seal counts to survey date, bathymetry, and novel proxies for snow depth and surface roughness that we derived from Landsat 8 surface reflectance and validated with on-ice measurements. Generalized additive models showed that counts of seal groups (all age classes) and pups were associated with later survey dates, deeper water, and habitat with bright Landsat 8 pixel values and intermediate pixel variability, which in turn were correlated with deep snow and surface roughness. We observed shallow snow depths, early sea-ice breakup, and high seal densities consistent with the extreme lack of ice available in 2019. Indigenous Knowledge, intentionally woven with scientific data, provided novel and more nuanced understandings of snow and sea-ice conditions for seals. Our results may give a glimpse at future ringed seal habitat and selection in a warming Arctic.


KEY WORDS: Ringed seals · Snow · Sea ice · Knowledge co-production · Marine mammals · Arctic ecosystems · Interdisciplinary science


Full text in pdf format
Information about this Feature Article
Cite this article as: Lindsay JM, Hauser DDW, Mahoney AR, Laidre KL and others (2023) Characteristics of ringed seal Pusa hispida (‘natchiq’) denning habitat in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, during a year of limited sea ice and snow. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 705:1-20. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14252

Export citation
Share:    Facebook - - linkedIn

Next article