Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada
Abstract Sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) are a cosmopolitan species but are only found in ice‐free regions of the ocean. It is unknown how their distribution might change in regions undergoing rapid loss of sea ice and ocean warming like Baffin Bay in the eastern Canadian Arctic. In 2014 and...
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crwiley:10.1111/gcb.16166 2024-09-30T14:30:47+00:00 Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada Posdaljian, Natalie Soderstjerna, Caroline Jones, Joshua M. Solsona‐Berga, Alba Hildebrand, John A. Westdal, Kristin Ootoowak, Alex Baumann‐Pickering, Simone World Wildlife Fund 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16166 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.16166 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gcb.16166 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Global Change Biology volume 28, issue 12, page 3860-3870 ISSN 1354-1013 1365-2486 journal-article 2022 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16166 2024-09-05T05:04:33Z Abstract Sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) are a cosmopolitan species but are only found in ice‐free regions of the ocean. It is unknown how their distribution might change in regions undergoing rapid loss of sea ice and ocean warming like Baffin Bay in the eastern Canadian Arctic. In 2014 and 2018, sperm whales were sighted near Eclipse Sound, Baffin Bay: the first recorded uses of this region by sperm whales. In this study, we investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of sperm whales near Eclipse Sound using visual and acoustic data. We combine several published open‐source, data sets to create a map of historical sperm whale presence in the region. We use passive acoustic data from two recording sites between 2015 and 2019 to investigate more recent presence in the region. We also analyze regional trends in sea ice concentration (SIC) dating back to 1901 and relate acoustic presence of sperm whales to the mean SIC near the recording sites. We found no records of sperm whale sightings near Eclipse Sound outside of the 2014/2018 observations. Our acoustic data told a different story, with sperm whales recorded yearly from 2015 to 2019 with presence in the late summer and fall months. Sperm whale acoustic presence increased over the 5‐year study duration and was closely related to the minimum SIC each year. Sperm whales, like other cetaceans, are ecosystem sentinels, or indicators of ecosystem change. Increasing number of days with sperm whale presence in the Eclipse Sound region could indicate range expansion of sperm whales as a result of changes in sea ice. Monitoring climate change‐induced range expansion in this region is important to understand how increasing presence of a top‐predator might impact the Arctic food web. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Climate change Eclipse Sound Physeter macrocephalus Sea ice Sperm whale Wiley Online Library Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Eclipse Sound ENVELOPE(-78.998,-78.998,72.635,72.635) Global Change Biology 28 12 3860 3870 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) are a cosmopolitan species but are only found in ice‐free regions of the ocean. It is unknown how their distribution might change in regions undergoing rapid loss of sea ice and ocean warming like Baffin Bay in the eastern Canadian Arctic. In 2014 and 2018, sperm whales were sighted near Eclipse Sound, Baffin Bay: the first recorded uses of this region by sperm whales. In this study, we investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of sperm whales near Eclipse Sound using visual and acoustic data. We combine several published open‐source, data sets to create a map of historical sperm whale presence in the region. We use passive acoustic data from two recording sites between 2015 and 2019 to investigate more recent presence in the region. We also analyze regional trends in sea ice concentration (SIC) dating back to 1901 and relate acoustic presence of sperm whales to the mean SIC near the recording sites. We found no records of sperm whale sightings near Eclipse Sound outside of the 2014/2018 observations. Our acoustic data told a different story, with sperm whales recorded yearly from 2015 to 2019 with presence in the late summer and fall months. Sperm whale acoustic presence increased over the 5‐year study duration and was closely related to the minimum SIC each year. Sperm whales, like other cetaceans, are ecosystem sentinels, or indicators of ecosystem change. Increasing number of days with sperm whale presence in the Eclipse Sound region could indicate range expansion of sperm whales as a result of changes in sea ice. Monitoring climate change‐induced range expansion in this region is important to understand how increasing presence of a top‐predator might impact the Arctic food web. |
author2 |
World Wildlife Fund |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Posdaljian, Natalie Soderstjerna, Caroline Jones, Joshua M. Solsona‐Berga, Alba Hildebrand, John A. Westdal, Kristin Ootoowak, Alex Baumann‐Pickering, Simone |
spellingShingle |
Posdaljian, Natalie Soderstjerna, Caroline Jones, Joshua M. Solsona‐Berga, Alba Hildebrand, John A. Westdal, Kristin Ootoowak, Alex Baumann‐Pickering, Simone Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada |
author_facet |
Posdaljian, Natalie Soderstjerna, Caroline Jones, Joshua M. Solsona‐Berga, Alba Hildebrand, John A. Westdal, Kristin Ootoowak, Alex Baumann‐Pickering, Simone |
author_sort |
Posdaljian, Natalie |
title |
Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada |
title_short |
Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada |
title_full |
Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada |
title_sort |
changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of baffin bay, canada |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16166 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.16166 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gcb.16166 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-78.998,-78.998,72.635,72.635) |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Eclipse Sound |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Eclipse Sound |
genre |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Climate change Eclipse Sound Physeter macrocephalus Sea ice Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Climate change Eclipse Sound Physeter macrocephalus Sea ice Sperm whale |
op_source |
Global Change Biology volume 28, issue 12, page 3860-3870 ISSN 1354-1013 1365-2486 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16166 |
container_title |
Global Change Biology |
container_volume |
28 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
3860 |
op_container_end_page |
3870 |
_version_ |
1811635581088694272 |