Harbor Seal Dive Patterns from the St. Lawrence Estuary and Sable Island, 1994-1998

Fisheries and Oceans Canada provides dive profile data for ten harbor seals tracked via satellite-linked time-depth recorders between 1994 and 1998. The dataset consists of frequency histograms for maximum depth, dive duration, and time-at-depth, compiled over daily 6-hour periods. Associated telemetry tracking data for the same individuals is available in a separate publication.

Use Cases

• Modeling seasonal dive patterns based on daily 6-hour period histograms.
• Analyzing foraging behavior based on maximum depth and dive duration data.
• Studying time-at-depth distributions to understand habitat use.
• Correlating dive data with satellite telemetry movement data from the same individuals.

Strengths

• Data from ten individually tracked seals over a multi-year period (1994-1998).
• Includes three types of dive histograms (maximum depth, dive duration, time-at-depth).
• Raw data was filtered using validity reports from the data provider.
• Associated configuration and intermediate files are included for transparency.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Seals captured using gillnets and fitted with satellite-linked time-depth recorders (SLTDRs).

Time Range

1994 – 1998

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-02 17:52:04.475797; freshness should be verified.

Geography

St. Lawrence Estuary (Bic Island, Île Blanche, anse du Petit-Mitis) and Sable Island.