USGS researchers tag walruses off NW AK

Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey Science Center are engaged in a project to attach radio tags to walruses living off northwest Alaska, to use the tracking of walrus movements for the assessment of the impact of receding sea ice on walrus behavior.

“Sea ice is an important component in the life cycle of walruses,” said Chad Jay, research ecologist with the USGS Alaska Science Center. “These tracking studies will help us to better understand how top consumers in the Arctic ecosystem may be affected by changes in sea ice habitats.”

Walruses dive hundreds of feet to forage for food on the sea floor and periodically haul out on floating sea ice to rest. However, when the edge of the sea ice recedes beyond the limit of the relatively shallow continental shelf, the animals haul out on land, resulting in the haul outs on beaches in Alaska and Russia that have been observed in recent years, USGS said in a press release about the radio tagging program. The radio tracking of the animals can provide valuable insights into walrus movements and foraging behaviors as sea ice conditions change, USGS said.

In July the USGS scientists attached 40 radio tags on walruses hauled out on distant offshore sea ice near the edge of the continental shelf, northwest of Barrow. In August the researchers, in conjunction with the Native Village of Point Lay, will try to attach 35 additional radio tags on walruses that have hauled out on beaches on the northwest Alaska coast.

Animated tracking data from tagged walruses can be viewed online on the USGS website at http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/walrus/tracking.html.

—Alan Bailey