Iliamna Lake harbor seals, members of one of the world’s five freshwater seal populations, rest on the ice surface of Alaska’s biggest lake in this undated photo. Their ability to live in an ice-covered environment makes the Iliamna Lake seals different from other harbor seals. New research shows how the lake seals are genetically different from harbor seals in the saltwater environments of Bristol Bay and elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean. (Photo provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
The harbor seals of Alaska’s Iliamna Lake, which make up one of only five freshwater seal populations in the world, have long been a subject of fascination for their separateness from the seals that swim in the nearby ocean waters.
Now scientific research has confirmed something that has long been suspected: The Iliamna Lake seals, believed to number about 400, are genetically different from the harbor seals swimming in the saltwater of Bristol Bay and the wider Pacific Ocean.
The findings are in a study published in the journal Biology Letters. The study is a collaboration of scientists from Florida Atlantic University, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Washington, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Seattle-based North Pacific Wildlife Consulting.