Editing Ringed seal

{{Short description|Species of carnivore}}

{{Speciesbox
| name = Ringed seal
| image = Pusa hispida hispida NOAA 1.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021">{{cite iucn|author=Lowry, L.|date=2016|title=''Pusa hispida''|volume=2016|page=e.T41672A45231341|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41672A45231341.en|access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web|title=Pusa hispida |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101700/Pusa_hispida|website=[[NatureServe]] Explorer|access-date=17 April 2024}}</ref>
| genus = Pusa
| species = hispida
| authority  = ([[Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber|Schreber]], 1775)
| range_map = Pusa hispida map.svg

| synonyms = {{center|''Phoca hispida''}}

}}

The '''ringed seal''' ('''''Pusa hispida''''') is a small [[earless seal]] species found in [[Arctic]] and [[sub-Arctic]] regions. Its common name is derived from a distinctive patterning of dark spots surrounded by light gray rings. 

The ringed seal is the most abundant and wide-ranging [[ice seal]] in the [[Northern Hemisphere]]; they can be found throughout the [[Arctic Ocean]], into the [[Bering Sea]] and [[Okhotsk Sea]] as far south as the northern coast of [[Japan]] in the [[Pacific]], and throughout the [[North Atlantic]] coasts of [[Greenland]] and [[Scandinavia]] as far south as [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]. Two freshwater subspecies live in [[northern Europe]]. They are the smallest members of the seal family found in these regions, averaging {{convert|1.5|m|feet|0|abbr=}} in length.<ref name="NOAA" /> 

The average lifespan of a ringed seal is 40 years. They have a solitary lifestyle, and their diet consists mostly of [[Arctic cod]] and [[plankton]]ic [[crustacean]]s. They are a primary prey of [[polar bear]]s – which are their primary predator – and [[killer whale]]s, and have long been a component of the diet of [[indigenous people of the Arctic]]. 

Recently, the biggest threat to ringed seals has been the [[Climate change in the Arctic|changing temperature in the Arctic]] and the detrimental changes to sea ice that follow. Declines in [[snowpack]] and [[sea ice]] due to increasing ocean temperatures and atmospheric temperatures poses a threat to their survival. However, some projections indicate that the extinction of their predators due to warming may ultimately allow ringed seal numbers to thrive. <ref>{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Ringelrobbe 5-1996.jpg|left|thumb|Back flippers]]
The ringed seal is the smallest and most common seal in the Arctic, with a small head, short cat-like snout, and a plump body. Its coat is dark with silver rings on the back and sides and a silver belly, giving this seal its [[vernacular]] name.<ref name="Miyazaki 2009">{{cite book |editor1-last=Perrin |editor1-first=William F. |editor2-last=Wursig |editor2-first=Bernd |editor3-last=Thewissen |editor3-first=J. G. M. |title=Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals |last=Miyazaki |first=N. |chapter=Ringed, Caspian and Baikal Seals |edition=2nd |publisher=Academic Press |pages=1033–1036 |location=Burlington, MA|year=2009 |isbn=978-0-12-373553-9 |chapter-url=http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/716899/description#description |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091109165656/http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/716899/description#description |archive-date=2009-11-09 }}</ref> Depending on subspecies and condition, adult size can range from {{convert|100|to|175|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} and adult weight can vary from {{convert|32|to|140|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090115004434/http://www.bbc.co.uk:80/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/601.shtml "Ringed seal"] ''BBC Science & Nature''. 15 January 2009</ref> Its average length is about {{convert|5|ft|m|abbr=on}} long, with an average weight of about {{convert|50|–|70|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name="NOAA"/> Though it is generally considered the smallest species in the true seal family, several related species, especially the [[Baikal seal]], may approach similarly small dimensions. Their small front flippers have claws more than 2.5 cm (1 in) thick that are used to maintain breathing holes through ice sheets as thick as 6 ft (1.8 m).<ref name="NOAA"/>

==Taxonomy and phylogeny==

The taxonomy of the ringed seal has been much debated and revised in the literature. Due to its wide range, as many as ten subspecies have been described.<ref name="Amano 2002">{{cite journal |last1=Amano |first1=M. |last2=Hayano |first2=A. |last3=Miyazaki |first3=N. |title=Geographic Variation In The Skull Of The Ringed Seal, ''Pusa Hispida'' |journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] |date=2002 |volume=83 |issue=2 |pages=370–380 |doi=10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<0370:GVITSO>2.0.CO;2}}</ref> Currently, five distinct subspecies are recognized: ''P. h. hispida'' in the [[Arctic Ocean]] and [[Bering Sea]], ''P. h. ochotensis'' in the [[Sea of Okhotsk]], ''[[Saimaa seal|P. h. saimensis]]'' in [[Lake Saimaa]] in [[Finland]], ''[[Ladoga seal|P. h. ladogensis]]'' in nearby [[Lake Ladoga]] in [[Russia]] and ''P. h. botnica'' in the [[Gulf of Bothnia]].<ref name="Miyazaki 2009" /> The ringed seal is most closely related to the [[Caspian seal]] (''P. caspica'') and [[Baikal seal]] (''P. sibirica''), all of which share similar small sizes, features of [[skull]] [[morphology (biology)|morphology]] and affinity for ice.<ref name="Miyazaki 2009" />

The closest phylogenetic relatives to the genus ''[[Pusa]]'' are the [[grey seal]] (''Halichoerus grypus'') and the species in the genus ''[[Phoca]]'' (the [[harbor seal]] and [[largha seal]]), in which ringed seals were formerly classified.<ref name="Davis 2004">{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=C. S. |last2=Delisle |first2=I. |last3=Stirling |first3=I. |last4=Siniff |first4=D. B. |last5=Strobeck |first5=C. |title=A phylogeny of the extant Phocidae inferred from complete mitochondrial DNA coding regions |journal=[[Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution]] |date=2004 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=363–377 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2004.06.006|pmid=15336671 |bibcode=2004MolPE..33..363D }}</ref> Together with the remaining northern latitude ice seals ([[ribbon seal]], [[bearded seal]], [[harp seal]] and [[hooded seal]]), these seals constitute the subfamily, [[Phocinae]].<ref name="Davis 2004" />

===Subspecies===
The populations living in different areas have evolved to separate subspecies, which are currently recognized as:<ref name="Miyazaki 2009" />
{| class="wikitable "
|-
! Image !! Subspecies !!  Distribution
|-
|[[File:Pusa hispida hispida NOAA 1 (cropped).jpg|120px]]||''Pusa hispida hispida''<br/>([[Arctic ringed seal]]) ||Arctic coasts of [[Europe]], [[Russia]], [[Canada]] and [[Alaska]], including [[Novaya Zemlya]], [[Spitsbergen]], [[Greenland]] and [[Baffin Island]].
|-
||| ''Pusa hispida ochotensis'' || [[Kamchatka Peninsula|Kamchatka]], [[Okhotsk Sea]] and southward to 35°N, along the [[Japan]]ese [[Pacific]] coast.
|-
|[[File:Pusa hispida botnica Oulu 20150516 06.JPG|120px]]||''Pusa hispida botnica''<br/>(validity questionable<ref name="Berta 2012">{{cite journal |last1=Berta |first1=A. |last2=Churchill |first2=M. |title=Pinniped taxonomy: review of currently recognized species and subspecies, and evidence used for their description |journal=[[Mammal Review]] |date=2012 |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=207–234 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.2011.00193.x|bibcode=2012MamRv..42..207B }}</ref>) ||The Baltic Sea, especially in the [[Bothnian Bay]] where there is a large population, but there are also populations in the [[Gulf of Finland]], the [[Gulf of Riga]] and the [[Archipelago Sea]].<ref name="Meier 2004" /> A publication from the [[HELCOM]] organisation classified ''P. h. botnica'' as '[[vulnerable species|vulnerable]]' in 2013.<ref>{{cite journal |author=HELCOM |author-link=HELCOM |year=2013 |title=HELCOM Red List of Baltic Sea species in danger of becoming extinct |journal=Baltic Sea Environmental Proceedings |issue=140 |page=92 |url=http://helcom.fi/Lists/Publications/BSEP140.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007002944/http://helcom.fi/Lists/Publications/BSEP140.pdf |archive-date=2014-10-07 }}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Ладожская нерпа.jpg|120px]]|| ''Pusa hispida ladogensis''<br/>([[Ladoga ringed seal]]) ||[[Lake Ladoga]]
|-
|[[File:Pusa hispida saimensis 304551354.jpg|120px]]||  ''Pusa hispida saimensis''<br/>([[Saimaa ringed seal]]) ||Lives only in [[Saimaa|Lake Saimaa]] in Finland and is one of the most threatened seals in the world with a total population of around 400 individuals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Saimaa Ringed Seal |url=https://wwf.fi/en/saimaaringedseal/ |access-date=22 December 2018 |website=WWF Finland}}</ref>
|}

The three last subspecies are isolated from the others, like the closely related [[Baikal seal]] and [[Caspian seal]].

==Range and habitat==

Ringed seals occur throughout the [[Arctic Ocean]]. They can be found in the [[Baltic Sea]], the [[Bering Sea]] and the [[Hudson Bay]]. They prefer to rest on [[Drift ice|ice floe]] and will move farther north for denser ice. Two [[subspecies]], ''P. h. saimensis'' and ''ladogensis'', can be found in freshwater.

Ringed seals have a circumpolar distribution from approximately 35°N to the North Pole, occurring in all seas of the Arctic Ocean. In the North Pacific, they are found in the southern Bering Sea and range as far south as the seas of Okhotsk and Japan. Throughout their range, ringed seals have an affinity for ice-covered waters and are well adapted to occupying seasonal and permanent ice. They tend to prefer large floes (i.e., > 48 m in diameter) and are often found in the interior ice pack where the sea ice coverage is greater than 90%. They remain in contact with ice most of the year and pup on the ice in late winter-early spring.<ref name="NOAA 2006"/>

Ringed seals are found throughout the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering Seas, as far south as Bristol Bay in years of extensive ice coverage. During late April through June, ringed seals are distributed throughout their range from the southern ice edge northward. Preliminary results from recent surveys conducted in the Chukchi Sea in May–June 1999 and 2000 indicate that ringed seal density is higher in nearshore fast and pack ice, and lower in offshore pack ice. Results of surveys conducted by Frost and Lowry (1999) indicate that, in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea, the density of ringed seals in May–June is higher to the east than to the west of Flaxman Island. The overall winter distribution is probably similar, and it is believed there is a net movement of seals northward with the ice edge in late spring and summer. Thus, ringed seals occupying the Bering and southern Chukchi seas in winter apparently are migratory, but details of their movements are unknown.<ref name="NOAA 2006"/>

Ringed seals reside in arctic waters and are commonly associated with ice floes and pack ice.<ref name="NOAA"/> The ringed seal maintains a breathing hole in the ice thus allowing it to use ice habitat that other seals cannot.

==Life history==
[[File:Pusa hispida pup.jpg|thumb|Pup of ringed seal.]]
Females reach sexual maturity at 4 years old while males do not reach maturity until 7 years old.<ref name="NOAA"/> During the spring breeding season, females construct lairs within the thick ice and give birth in these structures. Females give birth to a single pup on ice floes or shorefast ice in March or April after a 9-month gestation period. Pups are weaned after two months<ref name="NOAA"/> and build up a thick layer of [[blubber]].

Females usually begin mating in late April.<ref name="NOAA"/> Males will roam the ice for a mate. When found, the male and female may spend several days together before mating, after which the male looks for another mate.

Ringed seals live about 25 to 30 years.<ref name="NOAA"/> They are solitary animals and when hauled out on ice, they separate themselves from each other by hundreds of yards.<ref name="NOAA"/>

==Ecology==
===Diet===
Ringed seals eat a wide variety of small prey that consists of 72 species of fish and invertebrates. Feeding is usually a solitary behavior and their prey of choice includes [[mysids]], [[shrimp]], [[arctic cod]], and [[herring]]. While feeding, ringed seals dive to depths of {{convert|35|to|150|ft|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name="NOAA"/> In the summer ringed seals feed along edge of the sea-ice on [[polar cod]]. In shallow water they feed on smaller cod. Ringed seals may also eat [[herring]], [[smelt (fish)|smelt]], [[freshwater whitefish|whitefish]], [[sculpin]], [[Perch (fish)|perch]], and crustaceans.

===Predators===
Ringed seals are an important food item in particular for [[polar bear]]s.<ref>C. Michael Hogan (2008) [http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=36084 ''Polar Bear: Ursus maritimus'', globalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308140245/http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=36084 |date=2012-03-08 }}</ref> During the pupping season, [[Arctic fox]] and [[glaucous gulls]] take ringed seal pups born outside lairs while [[killer whales]], [[Greenland shark]]s and occasionally Atlantic [[walruses]] prey upon them in the water.<ref name="Krafft 2006">{{cite journal |last1=Krafft |first1=B. A. |last2=Kovacs |first2=K. M. |last3=Frie |first3=A. K. |last4=Haug |first4=T. |last5=Lydersen |first5=C. |title=Growth and population parameters of ringed seals (''Pusa hispida'') from Svalbard, Norway, 2002–2004 |journal=[[ICES Journal of Marine Science]] |date=2006 |volume=63 |issue=6 |pages=1136–1144 |doi=10.1016/j.icesjms.2006.04.001|bibcode=2006ICJMS..63.1136K }}</ref>

==Human interactions==
[[File:Ringed seal 1 2000-08-13.jpg|thumb|Preparation of the ringed seal]]
[[File:Phoca (pusa) hispida (Ringed seal) fur skin.jpg|thumb|Skin of the ringed seal.]]
Ringed seals have long been an important component of the diet of Arctic [[indigenous peoples]] throughout their range, and continue to be harvested annually by many communities.<ref name="NOAA"/> [[Early Paleoeskimo]] sites in [[Arctic]] [[Canada]] revealed signs of harvested ringed seals dating from c. 4000–3500 [[Before Present|BP]], likely captured in frozen cracks and leads in the ice, with a selection for juveniles and young adults.<ref name="Murray 2005">{{cite journal |last1=Murray |first1=M. S. |title=Prehistoric Use of Ringed Seals: A Zooarchaeological Study from Arctic Canada |journal=[[Environmental Archaeology]] |date=2005 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=19–38 |doi=10.1179/env.2005.10.1.19|bibcode=2005EnvAr..10...19M }}</ref>

In 2012 the Government of [[Nunavut]] warned pregnant women to avoid eating ringed seal [[liver (food)|liver]] due to elevated levels of [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], although they stressed eating traditional "country food" is still healthy for adults.<ref>{{cite web |date=28 June 2012 |title=Study says ringed seal liver dangerous for pregnant women |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/study-says-ringed-seal-liver-dangerous-for-pregnant-women-1.1219765?cmp=rss |website=CBC News}}</ref>

[[Bycatch]] in fishing gear, such as commercial trawls, is a threat to ringed seals. Climate change is potentially the most serious threat to ringed seal populations since much of their habitat is dependent upon pack ice.<ref name="NOAA"/>

=== Conservation in the United States ===

The estimated population size for the Alaska stock of ringed seals is 249,000 animals. In 2010 the trend in numbers for this population was unknown.<ref name="NOAA"/> Ringed seals are listed as a species of "least concern" by the [[IUCN]],<ref name="iucn status 13 November 2021" /> and were considered 'not threatened' under the [[Endangered Species Act]] in 2006. Reliable estimates of the minimum population, potential biological removal, and human-caused mortality were not available in 2006. The level of annual U.S. commercial fishery-related mortality or injury was considered insignificant. The Alaska stock of ringed seals is not considered a strategic fishery stock.<ref name="NOAA 2006"/> In 2008 the US [[National Marine Fisheries Service]] began a conservation status review under the [[Endangered Species Act]] (ESA) to determine if listing this seal under the ESA is warranted.<ref>[https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2008-09-04/html/E8-20544.htm "Notice of 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List the Three Ice Seal Species as a Threatened or Endangered Species"]. ''[[Federal Register]]'' '''73'''(61). 28 March 2008.</ref>

== Climate change ==

Ringed seals reside within 35°N and the [[North Pole]], and are thus known as a [[Circumpolar distribution|circumpolar]] based species. [[Climate change]] is projected to affect both polar regions more than anywhere else. This means a changing climate and life for all those residing in these polar regions. As for ringed seals, two potential outcomes lie ahead in this ever-changing climate.

=== Threats ===

In the past decade, the Arctic region has faced some of its highest temperatures within the instrumental record. Furthermore, within the past 2000 years, summer temperature highs have never been harsher, based on [[Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project|paleo-climate reconstructions]].<ref name="Olsen 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Olsen |first1=M. S. |last2=Callaghan |first2=T. V. |last3=Reist |first3=J. D. |last4=Reiersen |first4=L. O. |last5=Dahl-Jensen |first5=D. |last6=Granskog |first6=M. A. |last7=Goodison |first7=B. |last8=Hovelsrud |first8=G. K. |last9=Johansson |first9=M. |last10=Kallenborn |first10=R. |last11=Key |first11=J. |last12=Klepikov |first12=A. |last13=Meier |first13=W. |last14=Overland |first14=J. E. |last15=Prowse |first15=T. D. |last16=Sharp |first16=M. |last17=Vincent |first17=W. F. |last18=Walsh |first18=J. |title=The Changing Arctic Cryosphere and Likely Consequences: An Overview |journal=[[Ambio]] |date=2011 |volume=40 |issue=S1 |pages=111–118 |doi=10.1007/s13280-011-0220-y|pmc=3357772 }}</ref> This warming is due to [[climate feedback]] mechanisms based on sea-ice melt. As sea ice melts, it frees up more open ocean water to be further heated, thus bringing about a positive feedback. Ocean water retains more heat than sea ice; additionally the [[albedo]] of sea ice is much higher than that of ocean water.
Ringed seals require sea ice to live and reproduce. They live most of their lives alone, only grouping together into colonies when they are on sea ice to molt, mate, or rest.<ref name="animals.nationalgeographic">[https://web.archive.org/web/20100115132942/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/ringed-seal Ringed seal - Phoca hispida] ''National Geographic.'' 15 January 2010.</ref> Without access to sea ice, ringed seals are unable to sustain life, which further affects [[trophic level]]s both above and below.
Ringed seals are both predators and prey. A predator to [[zooplankton]] and fish, the ringed seal is considered a primary consumer as well as a secondary consumer. But the tertiary consumer, or top predator, in the Arctic is the polar bear, feeding mostly on seals, including the ringed seal. Yet through further exploration, the potential fates of this Arctic food web seem to be ambiguous, leading to a very important trade off of polar bear mortality and ringed seal sustenance.<ref name="Hoover 2013">{{cite journal |last1=Hoover |first1=C. |last2=Pitcher |first2=T. |last3=Christensen |first3=V. |title=Effects of hunting, fishing and climate change on the Hudson Bay marine ecosystem: II. Ecosystem model future projections |journal=[[Ecological Modelling]] |date=2013 |volume=264 |pages=143–156 |doi=10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2013.01.010|bibcode=2013EcMod.264..143H }}</ref>

=== Research ===

Most research on ringed seals is focused on their requirement of sea-ice to live and reproduce. With climate change projected to occur most dramatically at the poles, the Arctic is fated to extremely change, mainly with the melting of ice and changes in snowfall. Ferguson et al.<ref name="Ferguson 2005">{{cite journal |last1=Ferguson |first1=S. H. |last2=Stirling |first2=I. |last3=McLoughlin |first3=P. |title=Climate change and ringed seal (''Phoca hispida'') recruitment in Western Hudson Bay |journal=[[Marine Mammal Science]] |date=2005 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=121–135 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2005.tb01212.x|bibcode=2005MMamS..21..121F }}</ref> studied ringed seal [[Recruitment (biology)|recruitment]] in western Hudson Bay with a focus on six environmental variables, including: snow depth, snowfall, rainfall, the temperature when pups were born, [[North Atlantic oscillation|North Atlantic Oscillation]] (NAO) mechanisms, and lastly the spring break-up. The results of Ferguson et al. determined that decreases in snowfall had a negative effect on ringed seal recruitment, most likely from the occurrence of earlier break up of sea ice. The main process driving this break up is albedo, with less snowfall and more ocean exposed the ice melts more quickly. With seal pups being forced into the water sooner due to lack of ice, recruitment numbers dropped and resulted in a downward trend of the population. Ringed seals are not the only animals that require sea-ice in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic to thrive. Trophic levels come into play in terms of the food web and the reliance of one population on another or many others for survival. Most of this research is actually studied through simulations, since this requires future projections and interactions between many population, physical ocean, and biological mechanisms. Meier et al.<ref name="Meier 2004">{{cite journal |last1=Meier |first1=H. E. M. |last2=Döscher |first2=R. |last3=Halkka |first3=A. |title=Simulated Distributions of Baltic Sea-ice in Warming Climate and Consequences for the Winter Habitat of the Baltic Ringed Seal |journal=[[Ambio]] |date=2004 |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=249–256 |doi=10.1579/0044-7447-33.4.249|bibcode=2004Ambio..33..249M }}</ref> studied current and future projections of climate in regards to sea-ice in the Baltic Sea by means of atmosphere-ocean models. Firstly, the ringed seal relies on sea-ice for breeding and is unable to breed on land, meaning, as ice melts away in the future, breeding grounds will become much scarcer. Only one bay, [[Bothnia Bay]] in the [[Baltic Sea]], will be able to be used by ringed seals for breeding, vastly limiting their options. Ringed seals are only able to be successful with strained conditions in areas of 90%-100% ice cover probability. (Meier et al. 2004)  The changes in ice scarcity projected for the future seem to greatly hinder the ability for ringed seals to reproduce in the Baltic Sea. Hoover et al.<ref name="Hoover 2013" /> looked at multiple marine populations in the [[Hudson Bay]] while factoring in both simulated current and higher harvest rates, ultimately determining that ringed seals are identified to increase in population. This is mostly due to the decrease in polar bear populations, the main predator to the ringed seal. Even with a doubling of harvest rates and under the high (A1B) climate scenario, the ringed seals were determined to thrive even more. Hoover et al. further determined that the ringed seal's large presence as a circumpolar population along with unspecialized feeding makes the ringed seal less sensitive compared with other Arctic land and marine species. One of the final general conclusions made by Hoover et al. stated that while many current harvested populations will decrease with proposed climate change, ringed seals should be considered for redirecting harvest towards their populations.

In the Hudson Bay, Canada, the body conditions of ringed seals were observed from 2003-2013. Aerial surveys showed a decline in ringed seal density, with the lowest occurrence of seals in 2013.<ref name="Ferguson 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Ferguson |first1=S. H. |last2=Young |first2=B. G. |last3=Yurkowski |first3=D. J. |last4=Anderson |first4=R. |last5=Willing |first5=C. |last6=Nielsen |first6=O. |title=Demographic, ecological, and physiological responses of ringed seals to an abrupt decline in sea ice availability |journal=[[PeerJ]] |date=2017 |volume=5 |pages=e2957 |doi=10.7717/peerj.2957|doi-access=free |pmid=28168119 |pmc=5292026 }}</ref> The lower ice coverage means more open water swimming for the ringed seals, which caused higher stress (cortisol) rates.<ref name="Ferguson 2017" /> Low ovulation rate, low pregnancy rate, fewer pups in the Inuit harvest, and observations of sick seals was also seen over the course of the study.<ref name="Ferguson 2017" />

=== In context ===

The ringed seal is a very important link in the [[food chain]], separating primary producers from primary predators. Historically the ringed seal was the most abundant of any other seals in the Arctic, yet this species has had its share of population slumps. First there was over-harvesting of the ringed seal, drastically dropping numbers from about 200,000 in 1900 to only 4,000 in the 1970s. Secondly, pollution from organochlorides due to [[DDT]] and other residues caused many Arctic marine mammals including the ringed seal to become sterile. Sterility still affects many marine mammals living in the Arctic, being a mechanism of [[bioaccumulation]] within the Arctic food web.<ref name="Meier 2004" /> The ringed seal is not fragile considering their past, yet climate change will have the greatest population effect on the ringed seals thus far due to anthropogenic causes.

=== Future ===

The future of ringed seal populations in the Arctic and Sub Arctic is uncertain, but two main projections surface based around habitat and predators. The first projection focuses on the direct effects of climate change on sea-ice and the limited environment that it will provide the ringed seal with. The majority of past research has been focused around this main idea of quicker melting sea ice leading to lower ringed seal populations from lack of breeding areas. Yet what most research has not also taken into account is the quick drop in polar bear populations. As the main predator of ringed seals, the polar bears extinction in the coming years will allow for ringed seal populations to flourish. In the end, ringed seals are estimated to thrive with no polar bears present in the Arctic and Sub Arctic.<ref name="Hoover 2013" /> Although this predator factor is involved with more recent research, it does not necessarily mean this will be the outcome, considering the uncertainty in such projections. Overall, ringed seals populations will fluctuate regardless of each potential outcome and climate change is certain to affect not only the ringed seal but all Arctic and Sub Arctic animal populations.

{{Commons category|Pusa hispida}}

==References==
This article incorporates public domain [[work of the United States Government]] from references.<ref name="NOAA">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-05-10 |title=Ringed Seal {{!}} NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/ringed-seal |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=NOAA |language=en}}</ref><ref name="NOAA 2006">[[File:PD-icon.svg|15px]] Angliss R. P. & Outlaw R. B. (Revised 15 May 2006) [http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/sars/ak2006seri.pdf "Ringed Seal (''Phoca hispida''): Alaska Stock"]. "Alaska Marine Mammal Stock Assessments". ''NOAA Technical Memorandum AFSC'' '''168''': 51-55.</ref>

{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* M. S. Olsen, T. V. Callaghan, J. D. Reist, L. O. Reiersen, [[Dorthe Dahl-Jensen|D. Dahl-Jensen]], M. A. Granskog, B. Goodison, G. K. Hovelsrud, M. Johansson, R. Kallenborn, J. Key, A. Klepikov, W. Meier, J. E. Overland, T. D. Prowse, M. Sharp, W. F. Vincent, J. Walsh.
* (2011). The changing arctic cryosphere and likely consequences: An overview. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, 40(sp1), 111-118. doi: 10.1007/s13280-011-0220-y.
* Ringed seal - Phoca hispida. (2013). Retrieved from [https://web.archive.org/web/20100115132942/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/ringed-seal]
* Landis, C. (2009, May). The Arctic Ocean: Water surrounded by land. Retrieved from http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/polar-oceans/poles-apart-a-tale-of-two-oceans

==External links==
{{Portal|Marine life|Mammals}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060505174418/http://www.pinnipeds.org/species/ringed.htm Seal Conservation Society – Ringed Seal]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150910195719/http://finland.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=170517&contentlan=2&culture=en-US SOS. Save our seals, thisisFINLAND]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060301035003/http://www.itk.ca/environment/wildlife-ringed-seal.php Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami page on the ringed seal]
* [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Pusa_hispida.html Pusa hispida - Animal Diversity Web]
*[http://www.mnh.si.edu/mna/image_info.cfm?species_id=276 Smithsonian Institution - North American Mammals: Pusa hispida]
*[http://cetus.ucsd.edu/voicesinthesea_org/species/pinnipeds/ringedSeal.html Voices in the Sea - Sounds of the Ringed Seal]

{{Carnivora|C1.}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q203208}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ringed Seal}}
[[Category:Phocins]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1775]]
[[Category:Pinnipeds of the Arctic Ocean]]
[[Category:Mammals of Greenland]]
[[Category:Pinnipeds of Europe]]
[[Category:Pinnipeds of North America]]
[[Category:Pinnipeds of Asia]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Holarctic realm]]
[[Category:Habitats Directive species]]