Ringed seal, Phoca hispida, breeding habitat survey of Bridport Inlet and adjacent coastal sea ice / by Thomas G. Smith, and Michael O. Hammill.: Fs97-4/1577E-PDF

"A survey of the breeding habitat of ringed seals, Phoca hispida, was conducted at Bridport Inlet (74°55'N, 108°30'W) and along the adjacent coastline. Lair densities in the inlet itself were very low mainly because of the abundance of multi-year ice and lack of snow cover. Birth lair densities in the whole study area were only 15 percent of those seen in areas of Parry Channel further to the east. All birth lairs and most other lairs were found in two pressure ridges running west from the northern tip of Dealy Island. Birth lair densities along these ridges were slightly higher than on ridges in other arctic localities, recognized to be very productive habitats. This indicates that ridges are very important structures in this area because they are the only features accumulating snow to depths sufficient for lairs to be formed. Polar bear predation attempts were lower than in more easterly sectors of Parry Channel. However, they were frequent enough to indicate that this is an important feeding area. Fox signs on the sea ice indicate that there are more foxes in Viscount Melville Sound than in Barrow Strait or Lancaster Sound. No estimate of predation rates are available yet"--Abstract, page iii.

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