Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40229913›Full record

ArticleMovement ecology2025

Current and future habitat suitability of northern fur seals and overlap with the commercial walleye pollock fishery in the eastern Bering Sea.

Elizabeth A McHuron, Elliott L Hazen, Noel A Pelland, Kelly A Kearney, Wei Cheng, Albert J Hermann, Rolf R Ream, Jeremy T Sterling

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Movement ecology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Elizabeth A McHuronCooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. emchuron@uw.edu.
Elliott L HazenEnvironmental Research Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Monterey, CA, USA.
Noel A PellandCooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Kelly A KearneyAlaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, USA.
Wei ChengCooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Albert J HermannCooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Rolf R ReamMarine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, USA.
Jeremy T SterlingMarine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUnderstanding the abiotic and biotic drivers of species distribution is critical for climate-informed ecosystem management. We aimed to understand habitat selection of northern fur seals in the eastern Bering Sea, a declining population that is also a key predator of walleye pollock, the target species for the largest U.S. commercial fishery.

methodsWe developed species distribution models using random forest models by combining satellite telemetry data from lactating female fur seals tagged at different rookery complexes on the Pribilof Islands in the eastern Bering Sea with regional ocean model simulations. We explored how data aggregation at two spatial scales (Pribilof-wide and complex-specific) impacted model performance and predicted distributions. Spatial predictions under hindcasted (1992-2018) and projected (2050-2059) physical and biological conditions were used to identify areas of core habitat, overlap with commercial fishery catches, and potential changes in future habitat suitability.

resultsThe most important environmental predictor variables across all models were bathymetry, bottom temperature, and surface temperature. The Pribilof-wide model both under- and overrepresented the importance of specific areas, while complex-specific models exhibited considerable variability in transferability performance. The majority of core habitat occurred on the continental shelf in areas that overlapped with commercial catches of walleye pollock during the "B" season (June - October), with an average of 76% of the total percentage of the catch occurring in core fur seal habitat within the foraging range of lactating females. Projections revealed that considerable changes in fur seal habitat suitability may occur in the coming decades, with complex-specific variation in the magnitude and direction of changes.

conclusionsOur results illustrate the need to sample multiple sites whenever possible and consider spatial scale when extrapolating species distribution model output for central-place foragers, even when terrestrial sites are < 10 km apart. The high overlap between suitable fur seal habitat and commercial fishery catches of pollock, coupled with projected changes in habitat suitability, underscore the need for targeted studies investigating fisheries impacts on this declining population.

Indexed as

Callorhinus ursinusNorthern fur sealPribilof IslandsRegional ocean modelingSpecies distribution modelsWalleye pollock

Identifiers

PMID40229913
PMCPMC11995594

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.