Behavioral and physiological reactions of arctic seals during under- ice pilotage Article

Elsner, R, Wartzok, D, Sonafrank, NB et al. (1989). Behavioral and physiological reactions of arctic seals during under- ice pilotage . CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, 67(10), 2506-2513. 10.1139/z89-354

cited authors

  • Elsner, R; Wartzok, D; Sonafrank, NB; Kelly, BP

authors

abstract

  • Examined 1 spotted seal Phoca largha and 2 ringed seals Phoca hispida. Breathing holes were drilled in the ice of a frozen freshwater pond and a lake near Fairbanks, Alaska. Seals relied upon a sensory hierarchy for locating breathing holes: vision, audition, and vibrissal sense. Heart rate was recorded during voluntary dives of the younger ringed seal at 2 and 3 yr of age. Profound diving bradycardia was observed, suggesting that a highly developed diving response is routinely invoked by seals of relatively small body size during under-ice excursions. -from Authors

publication date

  • January 1, 1989

published in

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 2506

end page

  • 2513

volume

  • 67

issue

  • 10