Alaska Sea Lions and Seals
Blaire, Kate, Donovan, & Alex
Biodiversity of Alaska
18 June 2017
https://www.stlzoo.org/files/3913/6260/5731/Sea-lion_RogerBrandt.jpg
Similarities & Differences of Sea Lions and Seals
Phocidae Family
Otariidae Family
cannot rotate back flippers; move like a caterpillar on land can rotate back flippers under themselves to walk and run on land marine mammals
pinniped, “fin footed” in
Latin external earflaps no external earflaps
use front flippers for power when swimming use back flippers for power when swimming preyed upon
by polar bears, orcas, and sharks use back flippers for steering when swimming use front flippers for steering when swimming
food: krill, fish, lobster, birds food: squid, octopus, birds, and fish
claws and fur on front flippers no claws or hair on front flippers
Seals
Sea Lions
("What’s the Difference “ 2017)
Evolution
• Both seals and sea lions are Pinnipeds • Descended from one ancestral line • Belong to order carnivora • Closest living relatives are bears and musteloids (diverged 50 million years ago)
http://what-when-how.com/marine-mammals/pinniped-evolution- marine-mammals/
(Churchill 2015)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-04/24/content_7710231.htm
Phylogenetics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinniped
Steller: Eumetopias jubatus
http://www.arkive.org/stellers-sea-lion/eumetopias-jubatus/image-G62602.html
Steller: Eumetopias jubatus
• Classification (”Steller Sea Lion” 2017)
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mamalia
Order: Carnivora Family: Otarridae
Genus: Eumetopias
Species: Jubatus
Steller: Eumetopias jubatus
General Description
• Size:
• males: 2,500 lbs , 10-11 ft
• females: 770 lbs , 7.5-9.5 ft • pups: 35-50 lbs , 3.3 ft
• Coloring:
• adults: light blonde to reddish brown
• pups: dark brown/black
• Lifespan:
• 20-30 years old
(“Steller Sea Lion” 2017)
Steller: Eumetopias jubatus
Life History
• Growth & Reproduction:
• use rookeries • males establish territory, multiple females (“Steller Sea Lions” 2017)
• Feeding:
• opportunistic (capellin, cod, herring, mackeral, pollock, rockfish, salmon, squid, octopus, gastropods) (Fiscus 2017)
• Behavior:
• use haul-outs for rest • can dive up to 1300 ft, no migration • can walk on land (“Mammals” 2017)
Steller: Eumetopias jubatus
• Distributed throughout the coast to continental shelf (Womble 2017)
http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/sealions/steller-sea-lion.html
• Aleutian islands, central
Bering sea, Southern coast
• Western Distinct
Population Segment (DPS) = central and western Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian islands, coastal waters
Geographic Distribution
• Eastern DPS = southeast
Alaska, California, British Columbia, and Oregon (“Mammals” 2017)
Steller: Eumetopias jubatus
• Status: Endangered (Western DPS), Delisted (Eastern DPS) • Predators: orcas, sharks, humans • Efforts: protective zones, catch/hunting limits
(“Mammals” 2017)
Bearded: Erignathus barbatus
Bearded: Erignathus barbatus
Life History
• Growth & Reproduction:
• one pup per year
• late April or early May
• Feeding:
• feed benthically
• invertebrates • bottom fish
http://www.alaska.org/assets/content/cache/made/assets/content/advice/Alaska_Species_Gui de/Marine%20Mammals/580_438_c1/Bearded_SealHarbor_Seals_AB.jpg
• Behavior:
• males vocalize during the breeding season • predators
(“Mammals” 2017)
Bearded: Erignathus barbatus
• Status: very common and low risk (least concern of extinction)
• Life Span: 25 years old • Predators: polar bears, killer whales, walruses, and Alaska
Native hunters (“Bearded Seal” 2015)
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=beardedseal.main
Bearded: Erignathus barbatus
Range and Habitat
• follow the sea ice • south into Bering Sea and north into Chukchi and Beaufort Sea
• juveniles found more in ice free zones than adults
• shallow water
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=beardedseal.rangemap
• high biomass areas of
Geographic Distribution
benthic prey
• 150-200 m
(“Mammals” 2017)
- Harbor: Phoca vitulina
- Harbor: Phoca vitulina
Life History
• Diving:
• adaptations
• Reproduction & Development:
• single pups
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=harborseal.main
• May and mid-July • swim almost immediately after birth • sexual maturity between 3 and 7 years
• Food:
• opportunistic feeders
• seasonally available resources
(“Harbor Seal” 2015)
Harbor: Phoca vitulina
Life History
• Movement:
• no seasonal patterns
• Behavior:
• solitary in water
https://seagrant.uaf.edu/marine-ed/mm/images/harbor-seal-rev.jpg
• haul out in groups • enter water if threatened
• Species of Special Concern:
• vulnerable to significant decline • causes are unknown • most common predator is the killer whale
(“Harbor Seal” 2015)
Harbor: Phoca vitulina
Range and Habitat
• Dixon Entrance to
Kuskokwim Bay and west throughout the Aleutian Islands
• reefs, sand, and gravel beaches
• glacial and sea ice
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=harborseal.rangemap
• seasonal movement to
Geographic Distribution
glacial fjords
(“Mammal” 2017)
Northern Fur: Callorhinus ursinus
http://www.ejphoto.com/northern_fur_seal_page.htm
Northern Fur: Callorhinus ursinus
(“Mammals” 2017)
Life History
• Growth & Reproduction:
• Pribilof Islands • Males emit growling noises • Young mature around 5 years of age
• Life span is about 25 years
• Feeding:
• vast mixtures of food
• Migration:
• males and females have different migration habits
https://www.britannica.com/place/Alaska
Northern Fur: Callorhinus ursinus
Range and Habitat
• Pribilof Islands
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=northernfurseal.rangemap
Geographic Distribution
(“Mammals” 2017)
Northern Fur: Callorhinus ursinus
Life History
• Range and Habitat:
• found normally between 10 and 100 miles offshore
• Appearance:
• mature seals have brownblack, dense pelts
• males much larger than females
• History and Population:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/2680894468_86e7612c40.jpg
• discovered by Georg Wilhelm Steller • hunting became illegal in 1985
• Predators and Threats: killer whales, sharks, Steller Sea Lions
(“Mammals” 2017)
Ribbon: Phoca fasciata
Ribbon: Phoca fasciata
Life History
• Geography:
• mostly located in the Bering Sea by Alaska
• Feeding:
• large variety of marine food
• primary food choice is fish
• Predators and Threats:
https://seagrant.uaf.edu/marine-ed/mm/fieldguide/ribbon-seal.html
• difficult to tell predators • live far from civilization • population is strong, in no way endangered
(“Mammals” 2017)
Ribbon: Phoca fasciata
Life History
• Appearance:
• four rings on their bodies
• 5.5 feet and 175 pounds
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histriophoca_fasciata
• Migration:
• little information due to their remote environment
• Range and Habitat:
• young born on ice in April and May
• snow drifts are the main defenses against snow along with their mothers
(“Mammals” 2017)
Ringed: Phoca hispida
http://www.earthweek.com/2011/ew111216/ew111216g.html
Ringed: Phoca hispida
Life History • Growth and Reproduction:
• birth single pup
• females breed month after giving birth
• males omit odor
• Feeding
http://www.npolar.no/npcms/export/sites/np/images/dyreliv/Ringsel_Kovacs.jpg_787994278.jpg
• Artic cod, Saffron cod, Shrimps, and other crustaceans
• Behavior:
• live under sea ice • claws create breathing holes
• Predators and Threats: killer whales, polar bears, walruses
(“Mammals” 2017)
Ringed: Phoca hispida
• Range and Habitat:
• breeding seals à breeding territories
• juvenile seals à migrate south
• Geographic Distribution
• Bering • Chukchi • Beaufort
• Conservation Status:
• least concern
• Size
• 4 ft, 120 lbs
(“Mammals” 2017)
Spotted: Phoca largha