A new species of ringed seal called a Kangia has been described in western Greenland, according to an international collaborative study led by Finland’s University of Helsinki.
The seals were found living in the UNESCO World Heritage site Ilulissat icefjord. The Arctic marine ecosystem remains among the few scientifically uncharted waters, say the research team, concerned that it is currently warming at rates well above the global average.
The Ilulissat seals look unlike other ringed seals, says the multi-disciplinary team, being much larger and with very distinctive coat coloration and patterning. Local hunters, who had been aware of their distinctive nature for generations, call them Kangiat (those from Kangia).
The seals have now undergone genome sequencing and telemetry “tagging” as well as aerial surveys that revealed that only a few thousand animals stay within the icefjord, living at high densities. Other Arctic ringed seals tend to exist in larger populations and to be more mobile, foraging over thousands of kilometres seasonally.
The genomic analysis, led by Ari Löytynoja of the university’s Institute of Biotechnology, indicated that Kangia seals had been isolated from other species of ringed seal for more than 100,000 years.
“During that period, certain genes and genomic regions in the Kangia ringed seals evolved and gave the seals their unique coat coloration, larger body size and adaptations to their special fjord habitat,” says Löytynoja.
“Although the adaptations suit the lower salt concentration in the Icefjord, it remains unclear how and where the Kangia seals became isolated and obtained their unique biological characteristics.”
Because Ilulissat is only one of many Arctic fjords, finding the Kangia ringed seals could be merely “the tip of the iceberg”, says the team. However, because of the Arctic ecosystem’s “hidden” nature, the best ways to manage and conserve its wildlife and natural resources remain uncertain.
The study has been published in the scientific journal Molecular Ecology.
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