Estimation of Abundance and Demographic Rates of Pacific Walruses in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, 2015

This study estimated abundance and demographic rates, including survival and recruitment, of Pacific walruses in the Beaufort Sea in 2015. The data collected was used to determine the feasibility of conducting a large scale and long-term capture-mark-recapture effort to determine the size of the Pacific walrus population as well as age and sex specific survival and recruitment of the population. The decline in sea ice habitat and the associated stressors are causing a population decline of Pacific walrus. This study provided a baseline for monitoring Pacific walrus populations. The data was collected from visual observations of Pacific walruses in which skin biopsy samples were collected and used for individual identification. The field data was collected on an electronic field entry system, a Juniper Mesa and converted to a csv file.本研究于2015年对波弗特海（Beaufort Sea）内太平洋海象的种群丰度及包括存活率与补充率在内的种群动态参数进行了估算。所采集的数据被用于评估开展大规模长期标记重捕工作的可行性，以明确太平洋海象的种群规模，以及该种群按年龄与性别划分的存活率与补充率。海冰栖息地的缩减及其伴随的环境胁迫因子正导致太平洋海象种群数量下降。本研究为太平洋海象种群监测工作提供了基线。本次数据采集通过对太平洋海象的目视观测完成，期间同步收集皮肤活检样本用于个体识别。野外数据通过Juniper Mesa电子野外录入系统采集，并转换为逗号分隔值（CSV）文件。