Remarks on the Distribution and Natural History of Pagophilic Pinnipeds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas

Abstract

Five species of pagophilic (ice-loving) pinnipeds live in the Bering and Chukchi seas: Odobenus rosmarus, Phoca (Pusa) hispida, Phoca (Histriophoca) fasciata, an ice-breeding population of Phoca (Phoca) vitulina, and Erignathus barbatus. Breeding adults of these species are mostly separated from each other during late winter and early spring, when, throughout the pupping and subsequent mating periods, P. vitulina and P. fasciata occupy the edge-zone of the seasonal pack ice, E. barbatus and O. rosmarus are mainly farther north within the heavier pack ice, and P. hispida occupies areas of extensive land-fast ice. This paper discusses differences in body structure, ecological adaptation, and behavior in relation to distribution of the five species.