Alaska’s northern fur seals find refuge on tip of undersea volcano

Alaska’s rrn fur seal population for three deces has been classified as depleted, but marine mammals are showing up in growing numbers at an unlikely location - a tiny island that forms tip of an active undersea volca. Vents on Bogoslof Island continue to spew mud, steam and sulfurous gases two years after an eruption sent ash clouds into path of jetliners passing over Bering Sea. Still, rrn fur seal moms find remote island’s rocky beaches perfect for giving birth and moring pups. “ population growth of rrn fur seals on Bogoslof has been extraordinary,” said Tom Gelatt, who les an AA Fisheries group that studies rrn fur seals. Federal scientists visited island in August.

rrn fur seals breed in eastern Bering Sea

Geographically speaking, island is t a particularly unusual place for seals kwn for ir thick coats to hang out. Most of world’s roughly 1.1 million rrn fur seals breed in eastern Bering Sea. animals live in ocean from vember to June and he for land in summer to breed and nurse pups. But why seals chose volatile Bogoslof over dozens of or uninhabited Aleutian Islands is unclear. “ surface is covered with se big, ballistic blocks, some as big as 10 meters (33 feet) in length that were exploded out of vent,” said Chris Waythomas, a U.S. Geological Survey research geophysicist at Alaska Volca Observatory. “y litter surface. It’s pretty wild.”

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Population in eastern Bering sea

eastern Bering Sea population of rrn fur seals numbers about 635,000, with ir main breeding ground on St. Paul Island, 240 miles (390 kilometres) rthwest of Bogoslof. A California stock in San Miguel, Channel and Farallon Islands is estimated at about 14,000 animals. Or rrn fur seals live in Russian waters, though it’s unclear how many. Fur seals were first spotted on Bogoslof in 1980, and AA researchers have since conducted periodic checks on population. In 2015, biologists estimated an annual growth rate of just over 10% to approximately 28,000 pups on island. 2019 estimate likely will be more than 36,000 pups, Gelatt said. Food in deep water near island could be a factor.

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Bogoslof island and its volcanic activity

animals stay on beaches, but on Bogoslof - which is about a third size of New York City’s Central Park - y are never far from signs of volcanic activity. centre of island supports a field of fumaroles, openings through which hot gases emerge. Some roar “like jet engines” and spurt mud geysers several meters high, Waythomas said. He has visited last two summers. “It was amazing, sounds that were being produced,” he said. Eruptions in 2016 and 2017 showered landscape with rocks and killed all vegetation. y also shrank and grew island. Explosions destroyed acres of Bogoslof only to have fragmented material blown from lava vents create new real estate. island remains about 0.5 square miles (1.2 square kilometres).

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Eared seals with concentrated fur

rrn fur seals are distinct from harbor, ringed, bearded, ribbon and spotted seals in Alaska, which have ear flaps. rrn fur seals, like sea lions, are eared seals. y were named for ir concentrated fur: Fur seals have 350,000 hairs per square inch (60,000 hairs per square centimetre). animals have a prominent role in history of colonized Alaska. After hunting sea otters to near-extinction, Russian trers turned to rrn fur seals and relocated Aleuts to Pribilofs to kill and process seals. When Emperor Alexander II needed cash and decided to sell Alaska to United States in 1867, fur was one of future state’s kwn assets. But by 1988, four years after commercial harvest ended on St. Paul, rrn fur seal population h declined by more than half from its 1950s estimated population of 2.1 million animals. AA biologists don’t kw why rrn fur seals have t me a comeback. “That’s million-dollar question,” Gelatt said. Competition for prey from commercial fishing fleet, predation by killer whales, disease and ecosystem changes affecting seal or prey behaviour are possibilities. Volcanic activity on Bogoslof has been relatively stable, but Gelatt’s crew chose t to camp re during ir weeklong August expedition, fearing a recurrence of explosions that could shoot boulders like bottle rockets. y inste me day trips from an anchored boat. crew tallied seals and assessed wher aerial ims taken from unmanned aircraft could be used in future counts. As fewer seals breed on St. Paul Island, growth on Bogoslof is significant. “Barring or future catastrophic eruptions that could dramatically change geography of island, re is plenty of room for a lot more seals on Bogoslof,” Gelatt said.

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