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NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 74 



Soviet control. The walrus population is shared equally between these two 

 nations, as are the resources on which it depends. Hence, management of the 

 walrus and of its environment, should not be the prerogative of either nation but 

 of both, on a highly cooperative basis. Until such cooperation is assured through 

 international convention, the future of the walrus population and other 

 resources of the Bering and Chukchi seas seems uncertain. 



Over the past 28 years (1952-79), I have observed a remarkable evolution of 

 management and research goals associated with the Pacific walrus. In the be- 

 ginning there was intensive protection by the American government and overex- 

 ploitation by the Soviets, each without adequate knowledge of the animals or 

 their environment. This was followed by rigid protection on the Soviet side and 

 close management by the Americans, based on the single-species approach in 

 which the walrus was studied as an autonomous creature, disconnected from its 

 supporting environment. Finally, the synecological approach was developed, in 

 which the walrus is recognized as an integral part of the entire system in which it 

 lives. System-wide management, with due acknowledgment of the interrelations 

 of all of its parts and for maintenance of their balance, still is an ideal or goal, 

 rather than a practice, for the inner workings of the Bering-Chukchi system are 

 not yet fully understood. 



Over those 28 years, my colleagues, co-workers, and I have learned much 

 about the biology and ecology of the Pacific walrus. As can be seen in the 

 foregoing report, however, much more needs to be learned about this mammal, 

 as well as about the environment of which it is a part, before that ideal of 

 ecosystem management will be feasible. 



Concerning the distribution and migrations, we can infer some general 

 pattern to the seasonal use by walruses of the Bering and Chukchi seas, but we 

 still know very little of their specific migration routes, rates of passage along 

 those routes, or the fidelity of individuals to specific areas. Walruses would be 

 unusual among pinnipeds if they did not show some fidelity to mating and 

 calving areas and to migration corridors, at least in a general way (cf . Carrick et 

 al. 1962; Peterson and Bartholomew 1967; Peterson 1968; Stirling 1971; Le 

 Boeuf 1974; Mansfield and Beck 1977). If they are site fidelitous, then we need to 

 know much more about the nature of the major wintering concentrations and 

 their contributions to harvests along the migration routes. Since the mating of 

 walruses appears to take place in mid-winter to late winter when these major 

 concentrations exist, can we assume that each concentration is a semi-isolated 

 reproductive unit, possibly requiring separate management consideration? Do 

 these wintering units mix on the summering grounds in the Chukchi Sea? Do 

 they compete for resources at that time, although they appear to be noncom- 

 petitive in winter? Is the sex -age composition of animals wintering in each area 

 similar to that in the others? Is there sufficient interchange between them to 

 insure that depletion of one unit will be replenished by the other? Are the sum- 

 mering males at Round Island and Rudder Spit most of the breeding bulls from 

 the Bristol Bay and St. Lawrence concentrations, respectively? Are the bulls that 

 go north with the females in spring the ones that have not participated in 

 mating? 



More information is needed about the time and place of mating and the repro- 

 ductive behavior at that time. For example, do most of the females ovulate in 



