2006 Spring Tagging
| Chronology | Tagging Location Animation |
In mid-March and early April the i/b Magadan traveled up through the pack ice of the central Bering sea to the margins of the St. Lawrence Island polynya.
A research team lead by USGS that included members from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chukotka's Pacific Fishery Science Research Center (TINRO), MagadanTINRO, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Traditional Marine Mammal Hunters of Chukotka (ATMMHC) instrumented 45 walrus.
In mid-March, the P/V Stimson traveled out to the margins of the sea ice in the southeastern Bering Sea with a research team
lead by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the direction of the USGS that included members from Eskimo Walrus Commission, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Satellite radio tag used in the 2006 walrus abundance survey (shown attached to an adult male walrus). The 5.2 cm diameter tag is deployed with a crossbow. It is affixed to the walrus by the barbed shaft. Sensors on the top of the tag sense whether the walrus is in sea water or hauled out (see Marine Mammal Science 22:226-236 for details).
Chronology
Recorded haulout behavior of tagged walruses (2004 data)
USGS researchers will use sensor data from the tags to develop a correction factor for aerial surveys by noting what proportion of walruses were hauled out on ice floes and available to be counted during the aerial survey.
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animation! |
In addition to developing a correction factor from the tag sensor data, USGS researchers also learn about the movement of Pacific walrus. Click this icon to see what they are learning.
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