Abstract
Warming ocean temperatures and loss of Arctic sea ice have contributed to shifts in the distribution of endemic forage species important to the diets of marine carnivores, such as ringed seals (Pusa hispida). Given the heterogeneous way in which these changes are projected to occur throughout the Arctic, it is important to gain an understanding of predator diets and how they may change over time and space. We present the first study of ringed seal foraging ecology in the Gulf of Boothia, located in the central Canadian Arctic, using three diet estimation techniques: stomach contents, stable isotopes, and fatty acid signature analyses. Samples of ringed seal blubber and muscle were collected during subsistence harvests in Kugaaruk, Nunavut, Canada between 2012 and 2016. Stomach contents were collected in 2012 and differed amongst seals of different age classes, with polar cod (Boreogadus saida) comprising the largest proportion of both adult and juvenile seal diets. Mysids (Mysis oculata) were the main prey consumed by young of the year. Overall, FA signatures differed amongst age classes and exhibited significant interannual variation, but were not influenced by sea ice phenology, whilst values of δ13C, an indication of foraging habitat, changed in relation to the dates of annual sea ice breakup and freeze-up. Our results offer novel insights into the foraging habits of ringed seals in the Gulf of Boothia and demonstrate that ringed seal diets vary temporally, although not solely in response to sea ice concentration, which remains relatively high in this region of the central Canadian Arctic.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We are particularly grateful to the many hunters in Kugaaruk, Nunavut, who provided tissue samples from harvested ringed seals collected during their subsistence hunts. We are also grateful to the Kurtairojuark Hunters and Trappers Association (HTA) for its ongoing support collecting and shipping samples and for providing valuable input into the development of the monitoring programme that formed the foundation of this work. Joshua Kringorn, Mark Karlik Jr., and JJ Nasalik (Kurtairojuark HTA) coordinated the collection and shipment of samples. Derek Muir and Xiaowa Wang (Environment Canada) facilitated the analysis of muscle stable isotopes and Suzanne Budge (Dalhousie University) conducted gas chromatography for fatty acid samples. We thank Harri Pettitt-Wade and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments, which greatly improved this manuscript. Funding for this work was provided by the Nunavut General Monitoring Plan, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Kenneth M. Molson Foundation, and the Northern Scientific Training Program.
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Funding for this work was provided by the Nunavut General Monitoring Plan, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Kenneth M. Molson Foundation, and the Northern Scientific Training Program.
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Ross, T.R., Thiemann, G.W., Young, B.G. et al. Complementary diet analyses reveal intraspecific and temporal variation in ringed seal (Pusa hispida) foraging in the Canadian high arctic. Polar Biol 45, 465–480 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02999-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02999-x