How do Harbor Seals choose their perfect route?

Ports along the Alaskan coast choose the icebergs they sail on depending on the season, according to a news release. research presented today at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

The study focused on harbor seals in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, where the Johns Hopkins Glacier originates, one of the few on Earth that does so, according to AGU. release. Due to the circumstances of its advance, the glacier does not dump many icebergs into the fjord, reducing the seal habitat.Foca veal) choose to freeze (no pun intended) during the year.

“Ice floes are found throughout the fjord, in areas of fast flow, within gyres, and near the glacier,” said University of Alaska Southeast researcher and lead author Lynn Kaluzienski this environment in response to advancing glacier fronts and shrinking icebergs.”

The researchers found that the seals tended to be on slower-moving icebergs during the calving season (June) and on faster-moving bergs during the molting season (August). The team classified the slower-moving icebergs as 7 to 8 inches per second (0 .2 meters) during the molting season, seals tended to be on bergs that were closer to the ocean to fast-moving water made up of currents and glacial flows, called a plume.The plume flattens plankton and fish, which offer a feast for the seals, according to AGU.

The team hypothesizes that the slower debris provides more stability to adult seals that are nursing their pups in the early summer.

“Our work provides a direct link between glacier advance and seal distribution and behavior,” Kaluzienski said. :

Climate change can dramatically change the habitat of seals. he AI-powered analytics Out of 10 climate models released today, 34 regions identified by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have a 50/50 chance of warming by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) compared to pre-industrial levels.

All in all, it was a busy year for seals.A male elephant seal in February caused a stir when he rescued a drowning cub that was being pushed headlong back to shore Not all the news was so great; In July, nine seals were tested off the coast of South Africa for positive rageafter months of reports of seals attacking humans.

Alaska’s coastal seals are doing better than their South African counterparts. Declining icebergs aren’t good for them, but at least they don’t have a fury. There’s always a silver lining.