Question

In the 1900s, New England's harbor and gray seals were hunted to the brink of extinction due to bounty policies put in place to reduce their population. Although the bounty was dropped in 1962, seals continued to be hunted because of their perceived threat to the fishing industry. In 1972, seals became a protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Since then, both harbor and gray seal populations have increased dramatically. This graph shows the harbor seal population in the Gulf of Maine from 1970 - 1995. If no other changes are made to the ecosystem, predict what you think would happen to the harbor seal population in the next 20 yea

Answer 1

If the trends observed in the graph from 1970 to 1995 continued, we can make some predictions about the harbor seal population in the Gulf of Maine over the next 20 years.

Given that the harbor seal population experienced a dramatic increase after the implementation of protection measures in 1972, it is likely that this trend would continue if no major changes were made to the ecosystem. Factors to consider include:

1. Protected Status: Since harbor seals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, continued legal protection would help prevent hunting or other harmful human activities that could threaten their populations.

2. Availability of Resources: As long as their food sources remain abundant and accessible, harbor seals will likely continue to thrive. Changes in fish populations due to overfishing or climate change, however, could impact their growth.

3. Habitat: If their coastal habitat remains healthy and undisturbed by human development or pollution, this would also support ongoing population growth.

4. Environmental Changes: Climate change, including rising water temperatures and changing sea levels, could affect seal populations. Potential shifts in prey availability or habitat would need to be considered.

Assuming stability in these factors and no catastrophic events affecting the ecosystem, it seems reasonable to predict that the harbor seal population would continue to increase over the next 20 years. However, the rate of growth might slow down as the population approaches the carrying capacity of the environment due to competition for resources.

Overall, we would likely see a positive and sustained growth in the harbor seal population in the Gulf of Maine over the next two decades, barring any significant negative influences on their habitat and food sources.