Scientific American: Arctic ringed seals (Phoca hispida hispida) could soon get a critical habitat more than twice the size of California within the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Under rules (pdf) proposed this week by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the seals could have more than 900,000 square kilometers of protected waters. The seals were declared threatened with extinction under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) two years ago, mainly because of the decline in sea ice on which they shelter when molting...