Estimating Demographic Parameters for Bearded Seals, Erignathus barbatus, in Alaska Using Close-Kin Mark-Recapture Methods.

ABSTRACT: Reliable estimates of population abundance and demographics are essential for managing harvested species. Ice-associated phocids, "ice seals," are a vital resource for subsistence-dependent coastal Native communities in western and northern Alaska, USA. In 2012, the Beringia distinct population segment of the bearded seal, Erignathus barbatus nauticus, was listed as "threatened" under the US Endangered Species Act requiring greater scrutiny for management assessments. We sought to estimate requisite population parameters from harvested seals by using close-kin mark-recapture (CKMR) methods, the first such application for marine mammals. Samples from 1758 bearded seals harvested by Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Sea communities during 1998-2020 were genotyped, genetically sexed, and a

SUBMITTER: Taras BD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11549065 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature