Strong Ocean Winds effect Seal pups Migration


The article explains that when northern fur seals are born in the Bering Sea they have to go on an eight-month journey to the North Atlantic. There have been declining seal births and seal pup death during their first migration. Researchers have found when comparing the movements of seal pups during that initial migration with surface ocean winds show that they travel downwind not against it.Doing so will cause them to travel off course for hundreds of miles. Noel Pelland and his other colleagues have placed tags on  150 seals to track their movements in comparison to the wind since 1997 to 2015, and differences in the winds with where the pups ended up. It is currently unknown if this is beneficial or detrimental to seal survival, but it confirms a previous belief by native Alaskans. This is important research to know because we need to be able to study if changing climates, come with changing winds that could affect the reproduction of other animals. 

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