Seasonal habitat use of ringed seals in the Thule area, northwestern Greenland

Abstract

Recent rapid environmental changes along the Greenland coast have significantly impacted Arctic marine mammals. The melting of tidewater glaciers influences ocean environments and ecosystems, potentially changing the distribution and behavior of Arctic marine mammals. The ringed seal (Pusa hispida) is a keystone species in the Arctic marine ecosystem. In this study, four ringed seals were equipped with Argos conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) satellite relay data loggers close to tidewater glaciers in the Thule area of northwestern Greenland to investigate the relationship between their behavior and the marine environment. All seals spent most of their time in the vicinity of tidewater glacier fronts during the open-water period. After that period, the two seals moved out of the glacial fjords due to the formation of land-fast ice and stayed in the North Water Polynya area, where sea ice was relatively thin and sparse during the ice-covered period. Furthermore, CTD data suggest that ringed seals mainly dove to the depths of the water inhabited by the polar cod (Boreogadus saida). These habitat use characteristics, associated with distribution of ice and prey species, could potentially affect the distribution and ecology of this species under future climate change.