Variation in body size of ringed seals (Pusa hispida hispida) across the circumpolar Arctic: evidence of morphs, ecotypes or simply extreme plasticity?
| Autor: | Thomas G. Smith, Christian Lydersen, Tanya M. Brown, Lois A. Harwood, Kit M. Kovacs, Rune Dietz, Steve H. Ferguson, Lori T. Quakenbush, Vladimir Svetochev, Frank Rigét, Olga Svetocheva, Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid, Magali Houde, John J. Citta, Ellen V. Lea |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Density-dependence
GC1-1581 phocid seal Body size Plasticity Oceanography Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous) Environmental Chemistry GE1-350 Pinniped pinniped General Environmental Science FOOD AVAILABILITY Ecology biology Ecotype food availability Circumpolar star density-dependence biology.organism_classification Environmental sciences Pusa hispida Geography Variation (linguistics) MORPHOMETRY Arctic ecology morphometry |
| Zdroj: | Kovacs, K M, Citta, J, Brown, T, Dietz, R, Ferguson, S, Harwood, L, Houde, M, Lea, E V, Quakenbush, L, Riget, F, Rosing-Asvid, A, Smith, T G, Svetochev, V, Svetocheva, O & Lydersen, C 2021, ' Variation in body size of ringed seals (Pusa hispida hispida) across the circumpolar arctic : Evidence of morphs, ecotypes or simply extreme plasticity? ', Polar Research, vol. 40, 5753 . https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.5753 Polar Research, Vol 40, Pp 1-18 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 1751-8369 0800-0395 |
| Popis: | The ringed seal is a small phocid seal that has a northern circumpolar distribu-tion. It has long been recognized that body size is variable in ringed seals, and it has been suggested that ecotypes that differ in size exist. This study explores patterns of body size (length and girth) and age-at-maturity across most of the Arctic subspecies’ range using morphometric data from 35 sites. Asymptotic lengths varied from 113 to 151 cm, with sites falling into five distinct size clus-ters (for each sex). Age-at-maturity ranged from 3.1 to 7.4 years, with sites that had early ages of sexual maturity generally having small length-at-maturity and small final body length. The sexes differed in length at some sites, but not in a consistent pattern of dimorphism. The largest ringed seals occurred in western Greenland and eastern Canada, and the smallest occurred in Alaska and the White Sea. Latitudinal trends occurred only within sites in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Girth (with length and season accounted for) was also highly variable but showed no notable spatial pattern; males tended to be more rotund than females. Genetic studies are needed, starting with the “giants” at Kangia (Greenland) and in northern Canada to determine whether they are genetically distinct ecotypes. Additional research is also needed to understand the ecological linkages that drive the significant regional size differences in ringed seals that were confirmed in this study, and also to understand their implications with respect to potential adaptation to climate change. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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