Aquatic Life - Ringed Seal

Ringed seals are most common and widespread seals in the artic, spreading in the northern Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas and staying on shore ice during the winter. They are the smallest of all pinnipeds, rarely exceeding five feet and hundred fifty pounds. (Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST), Polar Research Board (PRB), 2003)


Critical Time:

“Females give birth to single, white-coated pup in snow dens on either land or drifting ice during March and April.” The mother nurse the pups in the dens for about two months; these dens are used for protection against severe weather and from predators. (Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST), Polar Research Board (PRB), 2003)


Sensitivities

Noise:
Pinnipeds react to noise from aircraft and ocean vessels. Mothers and pups are less likely to stay in their natural dens if there is noise. Although there is no broad scale difference noticed by aerial studies in regards to ringed seal distance from industrialization, it was noted that the seals were less frequently sighted around areas with industrial noise. (Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST), Polar Research Board (PRB), 2003) Ringed seals are more likely to abandon their breathing holes if the holes are close to seismic survey lines, lines likely to have noise due to exploration.

Oil:
Drastic consequences occur when putting mammals in oil. In an experiment, three seals were placed with a pool filled with oil. After 24 hours, the blood and tissues of the seals showed “hydrocarbons that had been incorporated through inhalation,”  (Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST), Polar Research Board (PRB), 2003) resulting in liver and kidney damage. However, there has been no evidence of such effects of industrial oil on seals.


Reference:
1.    Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST), Polar Research Board (PRB). (2003). Cumulative Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas Activities on Alaska's North Slope