Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Hudson Bay Ringed Seal: Ecology in a Warming Climate

  • Chapter
A Little Less Arctic

Abstract

Ringed seals (Phoca hispida) have evolved to exploit snow covered sea-ice platforms for reproduction and survival and may face critical challenges with ongoing and predicted climate change. The Hudson Bay ecosystem is already showing signs of climate warming raising concerns for the ecological, economical, and culturally-significant ringed seals of Hudson Bay. This chapter summarizes the current knowledge on ringed seals in this subarctic region, including recent findings, and presents the data in regard to current climatic changes. In Hudson Bay, sandlance (Ammodytes sp.) is a major component of ringed seal fall diet, whereas Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) representation in the diet is trivial, contrasting results from other Arctic locations. A comparison of density and demographic parameters between the 1990s and the 2000s suggests environmental conditions in the 1990s were not favourable for ringed seals, but improved in the 2000s. A decadal cycle in ringed seal numbers and reproductive performance may relate to variations in environmental conditions, particularly changes in the sea-ice regime. However, ringed seal pups are sensitive to snow cover and ice stability for survival. Thus, a long-term decline of ringed seal fitness in response to current and projected trends in Hudson Bay environmental variables may underlie the natural cycle. Long-term demographic studies of ringed seals at the southern limit of its range are needed to comprehend ringed seal population dynamics and its interaction with environmental variables.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Boveng, P.L., London, J.M., Cameron, M.F., and Kelly, B.P. 2009. Long-term satellite telemetry records provide new insights about ice-associated seal habitat preference and breeding site fidelity. Poster in 18th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Quebec City, QC, 12–16 Oct. 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradstreet, M.S.W., and Finley, K.J. 1983. Diet of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) in the Canadian high Arctic. LGL Limited, Environmental Research Associates, 44 Eglington Ave. W., Toronto, ON, M4R 1A1, Calgary, Alberta, 36 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breton-Provencher, M. 1979. Etude de la population de phoques annelés (Phoca hispida) et des autres pinnipèdes de la région de Poste-de-la-baleine (Nouveau-Québec). GIROQ, Rapport à l’hydro-Québec, Projet Grande-Baleine (Mandat d’avant-projet préliminaire OGB/76-1), 148 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleator, H. 2001. Traditional knowledge study of ringed seals: a transcript of interviews with hunters from Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Central and Arctic Region, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, 108 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Derocher, A.E. 2005. Population ecology of polar bears at Svalbard, Norway. Popul. Ecol. 47: 267–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, S.H., Stirling, I., and McLoughlin, P. 2005. Climate change and ringed seal (Phoca hispida) recruitment in western Hudson Bay. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 21(1): 121–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frost, K.J., and Lowry, L.F. 1981. Ringed, Baikal and Caspian seals Phoca hispida Schreber, 1775; Phoca sibirica Gmelin, 1788 and Phoca caspica Gmelin, 1788. In S.H. Ridgway and R.J. Harrison (Eds.) Handbook of marine mammals, pp. 29–53. F.R.S. Academic Press, London/New York/Toronto/Sydney/San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furgal, C.M., Innes, S., and Kovacs, K.M. 1996. Characteristics of ringed seal, Phoca hispida, subnivean structures and breeding habitat and their effect on predation. Can. J. Zool. 74: 858–874.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gagnon, A.S., and Gough, W.A. 2005a. Climate change scenarios for the Hudson Bay region: an intermodel comparison. Climat. Change 69: 269–297.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gagnon, A.S., and Gough, W.A. 2005b. Trends in the dates of ice freeze-up and break-up over Hudson Bay, Canada. Arctic 58(4): 370–382.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaston, A.J., Woo, K., and Hipfner, J.M. 2003. Trends in forage fish populations in Northern Hudson Bay since 1981, as determined from the diet of nestling thick-billed Murres, Uria lomvia. Arctic 56(3): 227–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gjertz, I., and Lydersen, C. 1986. The ringed seal (Phoca hispida) spring diet in northwestern Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Polar Res. 4: 53–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gough, W.A., Cornwell, A.R., and Tsuji, L.J.S. 2004. Trends in seasonal sea ice duration in southwestern Hudson Bay. Arctic 57(3): 299–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gough, W.A., and Wolfe, E. 2001. Climate change scenarios for Hudson Bay, Canada, from general circulation models. Arctic 54(2): 142–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammill, M.O., Lydersen, C., Ryg, M., and Smith, T.G. 1991. Lactation in the ringed seal (Phoca hispida). Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 48: 2471–2476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammill, M.O., and Smith, T.G. 1991. The role of predation in the ecology of ringed seal in Barrow strait, Northwest Territories, Canada. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 7(2): 123–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harwood, L.A., Smith, T.G., and Melling, H. 2000. Variation in reproduction and body condition of the ringed seal (Phoca hipsida) in the Western Prince Albert sound, NT, Canada, as assessed through a harvest-based sampling program. Arctic 53(4): 422–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harwood, L.A., and Stirling, I. 1992. Distribution of ringed seals in the southeastern Beaufort Sea during late summer. Can. J. Zool. 70: 891–900.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higdon, J.W., and Ferguson, S.H. 2009. Loss of Arctic sea ice causing punctuated change in sightings of killer whales (Orcinus orca) over the past century. Ecol. Appl. 19(5): 1365–1375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirons, A.C., Schell, D.M., and Finney, B.P. 2001. Temporal records of d13C and d15N in North Pacific pinnipeds: inferences regarding environmental change and diet. Oecologia 129: 591–601.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, K.A., Schell, D.M., Renouf, D., and Noseworthy, E. 1996. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic fractionation between diet and tissues of captive seals: implications for dietary reconstructions involving marine mammals. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 53: 528–533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, K.A., and Welch, H.E. 1992. Determination of trophic relationships within a high Arctic marine food web using d13C and d15N analysis. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 84: 9–18.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holst, M., and Stirling, I. 2002. A comparison of ringed seal (Phoca hispida) biology on the east and west sides of the North water Polynya, Baffin Bay. Aquat. Mammal. 28(3): 221–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holst, M., Stirling, I., and Calvert, W. 1999. Age structure and reproductive rates of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) on the Northwestern coast of Hudson Bay in 1991 and 1992. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 15(4): 1357–1364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holst, M., Stirling, I., and Hobson, K.A. 2001. Diet of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) on the east and west sides of the north water polynya, Northern Baffin Bay. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 17(4): 888–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurrell, J.W. 1995. Decadal trends in the North Atlantic oscillation: regional temperatures and precipitation. Science 269: 676–679.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2007. Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, p. 104, R.K. Pachauri and A. Reisinger (Eds.). http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-syr.htm

  • Iverson, S.J., Field, C., Bowen, W.D., and Blanchard, W. 2004. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis: a new method of estimating predator diets. Ecol. Monogr. 72(2): 211–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kendall, C., and Caldwell, E.A. 1998. Fundamentals of isotope geochemistry. In C. Kendall and J.J. McDonnell (Eds.) Isotope tracers in catchment hydrology, pp. 51–86. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kendall, C., Sklash, M.G., and Bullen, T.D. 1995. Isotopes tracers of water and solute sources in catchments. In S.T. Trudgill (Ed.) Solute modelling in catchment systems, pp. 261–303. Wiley, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingsley, M.C.S., and Byers, T.J. 1998. Failure in reproduction of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) in Amunsden Gulf, Nortwest Territories in 1984–1987. In M.P. Heide-Jorgensen and C. Lydersen (Eds.) Ringed seals in the North Atlantic, pp. 197–210. The North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission, Tromso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingsley, M.C.S., and Stirling, I. 1991. Haul-out behaviour of ringed and bearded seals in relation to defence against surface predators. Can. J. Zool. 69: 1857–1861.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingsley, M.C.S., Stirling, I., and Calvert, W. 1985. The distribution and abundance of seals in the Canadian high Arctic, 1980–82. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 42: 1189–1210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krafft, B.A., Kovacs, K.M., Frie, A.K., Haug, T., and Lydersen, C. 2006. Growth and population parameters of ringed seals (Pusa hispida) from Svalbard, Norway, 2002–2004. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 63: 1136–1144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krafft, B.A., Kovacs, K.M., and Lydersen, C. 2007. Distribution of sex and age groups of ringed seals Pusa hispida in the fast-ice breeding habitat of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 335: 199–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurle, C.M., and Worthy, G.A.J. 2002. Stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios in multiple tissues of the northern fur seal Callorhinus ursinus: implications for dietary and migratory reconstructions. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 236: 289–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Labansen, A.L., Lydersen, C., Haug, T., and Kovacs, K.M. 2007. Spring diet of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) from northwestern Spitsbergen, Norway. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 64(6): 1246–1256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laidre, K.L., Stirling, I., Lowry, L.F., Wiig, O., Heide-Jorgensen, M.P., and Ferguson, S.H. 2008. Quantifying the sensitivity of Arctic marine mammals to climate-induced habitat change. Ecol. Appl. 18(Suppl. 2): S97–S125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lesage, V., Hammill, M.O., and Kovacs, K.M. 2001. Marine mammals and the community structure of the estuary and Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada: evidence from stable isotope analysis. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 210: 203–221.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lesage, V., Hammill, M.O., and Kovacs, K.M. 2002. Diet-tissue fractionation of stable carbon and stable isotopes in phocid seals. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 18(1): 182–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowry, L.F.K., Frost, J., and Burns, J.J. 1980. Variability in the diet of ringed seals, Phoca hispida, in Alaska. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 37: 2254–2261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lunn, N.J., Stirling, I., and Nowicki, S.N. 1997. Distribution and abundance of ringed (Phoca hispida) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) in western Hudson Bay. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 54: 914–921.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lydersen, C., and Gjertz, I. 1987. Population parameters of ringed seals (Phoca hispida Schreber, 1775) in the Svalbard area. Can. J. Zool. 65: 1021–1027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lydersen, C., and Hammill, M.O. 1993. Diving in ringed seal (Phoca hispida) pups during the nursing period. Can. J. Zool. 71: 991–996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, A.W. 1967. Seals of arctic and eastern Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 137, p. 35.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCormick, M.P., Thomason, L.W., and Trepte, C.R. 1995. Atmospheric effects of the Mt Pinatubo eruption. Nature 373: 399–404.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, M., Arragutainaq, L., and Novalinga, Z. 1997. Voices from the Bay: traditional ecological knowledge of Inuit and Cree in the Hudson Bay bioregion. Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, Environmental Committee of the municipality of Sanikiluaq, 97 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLaren, I.A. 1958. The biology of the ringed seal (Phoca hispida Schreber) in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 118, 97 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLaren, I.A. 1993. Growth in pinnipeds. Biol. Rev. 68: 1–79.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mysak, L.A., Ingram, R.G., Wang, J., and Van der Baaren, A. 1996. The anomalous sea-ice extent in Hudson Bay, Baffin Bay and the Labrador sea during three simultaneous NAO and ENSO episodes. Atmos. Ocean 34(2): 313–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mysak, L.A., and Manak, D.K. 1989. Arctic sea-ice extent and anomalies, 1953–1984. Atmos. Ocean 27(2): 376–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ottersen, G., Planque, B., Belgrano, A., Post, E., Reid, P.C., and Stenseth, N.C. 2001. Ecological effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Oecologia 128: 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson, C.L., and Cavalieri, D.J. 2008. Arctic sea ice variability and trends, 1979–2006. J. Geophys. Res. 113: C07003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Post, E., and Forchhammer, M.C. 2002. Synchronization of animal population dynamics by large-scale climate. Nature 420: 168–171.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Regehr, E.V., Lunn, N.J., Amstrup, S.C., and Stirling, I. 2007. Effects of earlier sea ice break-up on survival and population size of polar bears in Western Hudson Bay. J. Wildl. Manage. 71(8): 2673–2683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryg, M., Smith, T.G., and Oritsland, N.A. 1990. Seasonal changes in body mass and composition of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) on Svalbard. Can. J. Zool. 68: 470–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegstad, H., Neve, P.B., Heide-Jorgensen, M.P., and Harkonen, T. 1998. Diet of the ringed seal (Phoca hispida) in Greenland. In M.P. Heide-Jorgensen and C. Lydersen (Eds.) Ringed seals in the North Atlantic, pp. 229–241. The North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission, Tromso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, W.R., Jefferies, R.L., Carleton, T.J., Rockwell, R.F., and Abraham, K.F. 1998. Prediction of reproductive success and failure in lesser geese based on early season climatic variables. Glob. Change Biol. 4: 3–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T.G. 1973. Population dynamics of the ringed seal in the Canadian Eastern Arctic. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 181, 55 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T.G. 1975. Ringed seals in James Bay and Hudson Bay: population estimates and catch statistics. Arctic 28: 170–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T.G. 1987. The ringed seal, Phoca hispida, of the Canadian western Arctic. Canad. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 216: 81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T.G., and Hammill, M.O. 1981. Ecology of the ringed seal, Phoca hispida, in its fast ice breeding habitat. Can. J. Zool. 59: 966–981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T.G., Hammill, M.O., and Taugbol, G. 1991. A review of the developmental, behavioral and physiological adaptations of the ringed seal, Phoca hispida, to life in the Arctic winter. Arctic 44(2): 124–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T.G., and Stirling, I. 1975. The breeding habitat of the ringed seal (Phoca hispida). The birth lair and associated structures. Can. J. Zool. 53: 1297–1305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling, I. 2002. Polar bears and seals in the eastern Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf: a synthesis of population trends and ecological relationships over three decades. Arctic 55(Suppl. 1): 59–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stirling, I. 2005. Reproductive rates of ringed seals and survival of pups in Northwestern Hudson Bay, Canada, 1991–2000. Polar Biol. 28: 381–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling, I., Archibald, W.R., and DeMaster, D. 1977. Distribution and abundance of seals in the Eastern Beaufort Sea. Fish. Res. Board Can. 34: 976–988.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling, I., Lunn, N.J., and Lacozza, J. 1999. Long-term trends in the population ecology of polar bears in western Hudson Bay in relation to climatic change. Arctic 52(3): 294–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stirling, I., and Oritsland, N.A. 1995. Relationships between estimates of ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations in the Canadian Arctic. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 52: 2594–2612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling, I., and Parkinson, C.L. 2006. Possible effects of climate warming on selected populations of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Canadian Arctic. Arctic 59(3): 261–275.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stirling, I., and Smith, T.G. 2004. Implications of warm temperatures and an unusual rain event for the survival of ringed seals on the coast of Southeastern Baffin Island. Arctic 57(1): 59–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tynan, C.T., and DeMaster, D.P. 1997. Observations and predictions of arctic climatic change: potential effects on marine mammals. Arctic 50(4): 308–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, J.E. 2008. Climate of the Arctic marine environment. Ecol. Appl. 18(Suppl. 2): S3–S22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wathne, J.A., Haug, T., and Lydersen, C. 2000. Prey preference and niche overlap of ringed seals Phoca hispida and harp seals Pagophilus groenlandica in the Barents Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 194: 233–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weslawski, J.M., Ryg, M., Smith, T.G., and Oritsland, N.A. 1994. Diet of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) in a Fjord of West Svalbard. Arctic 47(2): 109–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woollett, J.M., Henshaw, A.S., and Wake, C.P. 2000. Palaeoecological implications of Archaeological seal bone assemblages: case studies from Labrador and Baffin Island. Arctic 53(4): 395–413.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada

    M. Chambellant

Authors
  1. M. Chambellant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Chambellant .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, University of Manitoba Freshwater Institute, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Steven H. Ferguson

  2. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Lisa L. Loseto

  3. Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, 1714, Iqaluit, Nunavut, X0A 0H0, Canada

    Mark L. Mallory

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Chambellant, M. (2010). Hudson Bay Ringed Seal: Ecology in a Warming Climate. In: Ferguson, S.H., Loseto, L.L., Mallory, M.L. (eds) A Little Less Arctic. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9121-5_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation