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dc.contributor.authorBlanchet, Marie-Anne Ermeline
dc.contributor.authorLydersen, Christian
dc.contributor.authorIms, Rolf Anker
dc.contributor.authorLowther, Andrew D.
dc.contributor.authorKovacs, Kit
dc.date.accessioned2015-08-04T11:31:16Z
dc.date.available2015-08-04T11:31:16Z
dc.date.issued2014-09-03
dc.description.abstractHarbour seals Phoca vitulina are mainly considered a temperate species, but the world’s northernmost population resides year-round in the high-Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. In this study we document post-moulting at-sea movements of 30 individuals from this population using satellite relay data loggers deployed in the autumns of 2009 and 2010. All of the seals showed a strong preference for the west side of the archipelago, staying mainly in coastal areas (<50 km over the continental shelf), but seldom entering the fjord systems. Distance swam per day, individual home range size, and trip duration increased throughout the winter to a peak that was reached when drifting sea ice in the region was at a maximum. No effect of age was observed, but sex differences were significant; males occupied larger areas than females. Habitat selection was quantified by modelling time spent in area (TSA) as a function of environmental parameters using Cox proportional hazard models (CPH). The harbour seals avoided heavy ice concentrations (>50%) but did occupy areas with substantial amounts of drifting ice (5 to 25%). Shallow water (<100 m) and steep bathymetric slopes were preferred to deep water or flat-bottom areas. Harbour seal distribution in Svalbard is largely restricted to coastal areas that are heavily influenced by Atlantic water brought northward in the West Spitsbergen Current; both the temperature and influx of this water type are predicted to increase in the future. It is thus likely that environmental conditions in Svalbard in the future will become more favourable for harbour seals.en_US
dc.identifier.citationAquatic Biology 21(2014) nr. 3 s. 167-181en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 1189849
dc.identifier.doi10.3354/ab00580
dc.identifier.issn1864-7790
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/7898
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:no-uit_munin_7466
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherInter-Research (IR)en_US
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccess
dc.subjectClimate changeen_US
dc.subjectSea iceen_US
dc.subjectHabitat useen_US
dc.subjectTime spent in areaen_US
dc.subjectCox proportional hazard modelsen_US
dc.subjectSatellite telemetryen_US
dc.subjectVDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Marinbiologi: 497en_US
dc.subjectVDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497en_US
dc.titleHarbour seal Phoca vitulina movement patterns in the high-Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norwayen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen_US
dc.typePeer revieweden_US


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