Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Hólmfríður Jakobsdóttir1,2,3, Haseeb Randhawa1, Eric Ruben dos Santos2,3, Sandra Magdalena Granquist2,3
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Faculty of Life and Environmental sciences, University of Iceland, 2. The Icelandic Seal Center, and 3. The Marine and Freshwater Research Institute
Kynnir / Presenter: Sandra M. Granquist
The interest in seal watching tourism is increasing in Iceland. However, knowledge on the impact of tourism on the endangered harbour seal population is limited. In this study, effects of land-based tourism on abundance, spatial distribution and behaviour of harbour seals were estimated using wildlife tracking cameras at five haul out sites in the Westfjords and NW Iceland (total of 8813 hours). Some indicators that harbour seals are disturbed by tourism were detected. Seals were more vigilant at seal watching sites compared to control sites. Furthermore, within the seal watching site Illugastaðir, vigilance increased among seals hauling out closer to the visitors. Also, seals were more vigilant during the day at the seal watching site, when more visitors were in the area, compared to the night. However, no evidence was found that the number of tourists at the seal watching site affected the proportion of vigilant seals, abundance, or spatial distribution within a haul out. Some environmental factors also affected abundance and behaviour of harbour seals. Temporal factors, wind speed, wind direction, wind chill equivalent temperatures, tide height, and precipitation affected harbour seal abundance, while vigilance was affected by temporal factors, seal group size, wind speed and wind chill equivalent temperatures. The results can be used to improve management and conservation plans for the Icelandic harbour seal population, such as to establish seal watching guidelines.