Haul-Out Site Use and Connectivity of Harbour Seals Between Management Units in Southern Scandinavia.

ABSTRACT: Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) have a broad distribution in coastal ecosystems across the northern hemisphere. In southern Scandinavia, a lack of spatially-resolved data on harbour seal populations poses a major challenge for developing ecologically informed management frameworks, particularly in Norway, where populations are regulated using county-level administrative boundaries. In this study, we use haul-out data from 26 harbour seals tagged with GPS phone tags during the post-moult period to provide the first assessment of connectivity and movement across management boundaries in the Skagerrak-Kattegat region of southern Scandinavia. Specifically, we examined the frequency and timing of haul-out events relative to management units and quantified spatial networks of connectivity

SUBMITTER: Riaz J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12796850 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature