Underwater Vocalizations as a Tool for Studying the Distribution and Relative Abundance of Wintering Pinnipeds in the High Arctic

Abstract

Recordings of the underwater vocalizations of ringed seals (Phoca hispida ), bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus ) and walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus ) were made in the High Arctic between late March and late June 1980 and 1981, to evaluate the potential for using sub-ice vocalizations to study the distribution and relative abundance of wintering pinnipeds. Most of the calls made by these species are identified and an initial lexicon is presented. Ringed seal vocalizations were more frequent in late April than earlier in the season or in late June, whereas the highest vocalization rates recorded for bearded seals were in late June. Vocalization rates of all three species were indicative of their distribution and relative abundance in different areas and sea ice habitat types.