| The ringed seal, Phoca hispida, is one of the smallest and most abundant of the Arctic marine species. This study proposes an alternative method of indexing seal population in the Canadian Arctic. Instead of focusing on the individual, efforts can be concentrated on the wintering habitat. Throughout the winter, seal distribution becomes clustered within specific regions in the sea ice that exhibit particular geophysical attributes. These attributes relate directly to ice type and snow cover. "Preferred" variables have been identified and quantified previously from ground surveys. This research is extended into the use of remotely sensed data used to exploit habitat variables and employ them as stratification variables to stratify the Arctic cryosphere with regard to the habitat suitability of the ringed seal.;The early part of this work focuses on the quantification of the subnivean habitat parameters within two study sites during separate field seasons, Admiralty Inlet (1992) and Barrow Strait (1995).;Having identified the environmental variables necessary for habitat selection, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) was introduced to examine what environmental factors could be exploited to produce a spatial index of suitability. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
