The Influence of Ice Conditions on Terrestrial Haulouts of the Pacific Walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens Illiger, 1815 in the Gulf of Anadyr, Bering Sea

摘要

The boundaries of the area of appropriate depths for feeding by the Pacific walrus were determined. Based on the ice maps for the period of 1997-2011, the long-term dynamics of ice breakup and formation in the Gulf of Anadyr (Bering Sea) were analyzed. There was a tendency towards a reduction in the ice-cover period in the Gulf of Anadyr, especially during 2007-2011. In 2008, the number and duration of stay of walruses at terrestrial haulout sites on Meeskyn Spit Island and on Retkyn Spit continued to decrease. Walruses also used other haulouts located in the Gulf of Anadyr at Cape Gek and Cape Retkyn. The age and sex structure of the walrus herd changed: the proportions of adult males and young animals decreased, while the proportion of females with calves increased.