The Distribution of Hauled-out Ringed Seals and an Interpretation of Taylor's Law

The sizes of the groups in which ringed seals (Phoca hispida) haul out were studied from aerial survey data from a wide area of the Canadian Arctic. Densities of hauled-out ringed seals varied over a wide range, but the mean group size was comparatively constant. Ringed seal distribution data obeyed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oecologia 1989-04, Vol.79 (1), p.106-110
Main Author: KINGSLEY, M. C. S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggregation
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Demecology
Ecological modeling
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Group size
Ice
Mammalia
Marine
Ocean fisheries
Oceans
Phoca hispida
Seals
Seas
Species
Statistical variance
Vertebrata
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Summary:The sizes of the groups in which ringed seals (Phoca hispida) haul out were studied from aerial survey data from a wide area of the Canadian Arctic. Densities of hauled-out ringed seals varied over a wide range, but the mean group size was comparatively constant. Ringed seal distribution data obeyed Taylor's law of variation; about half the increase in aggregation with density was due to change in group size, and half to increasingly clumpy distribution of groups.
ISSN:0029-8549
1432-1939
DOI:10.1007/BF00378246