ARCTIC Bowhead Whale Distribution in the Southeastern
ABSTRACT. The distribution of bowhead whales in the southeastern Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf was determined from observa-tions aboard commercial resupply vessels. Fifty-four to sixty-two whale sightings were recorded on the 2150 km (1 160 nm) of transects. Distribution of whale sightings along tr...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.500.1371 http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic35-4-519.pdf |
| Summary: | ABSTRACT. The distribution of bowhead whales in the southeastern Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf was determined from observa-tions aboard commercial resupply vessels. Fifty-four to sixty-two whale sightings were recorded on the 2150 km (1 160 nm) of transects. Distribution of whale sightings along transects was clumped. The proportion of whales seen near ice was significantly greater than the proportion of transect surveyed near ice. Our observations and interviews indicate that bowheads are seen over a period of several weeks in many areas where they are seen annually. Both the locations and seasonality of whale Occurrence appear similar to distribution patterns extracted from sightings of nearly a century ago. Key words: Beaufort Sea- Amundsen Gulf, bowhead, cetacea, vessel transects, whale RESUME. La distribution de baleines boreales dans le sud-est de la mer de Beaufort et le golfe Amundsen a t t t determine au moyen d'observations à bord de navires commerciaux de reapprovisionnement. Des observateurs ont declaré avoir vu entre cinquante-quatre et soixante-deux baleines le long das 2150 km (1 160 m.n.) des lignes de sectionnement. Les cas d'observations Ctaient groupds le long de ces lignes. La proportion de baleines aperçues pres des glaces etait de beaucoup suptrieure à la proportion des lignes de sectionnement sujbtes II des levees prbs des glaces. Nos observations et entrevues ont signal6 que les baleines boreales sont aperçues pendant plusieurs semaines dans de nombreuses regions où elles apparaissent chaque annee. Les emplacements ainsi que les ptriodes saisonnibres des cas d'observation de baleines sont semblables aux schtmas de distribution extraits d'observations d'il y a presque cent ans. Mots cl6s: mer de Beaufort, golfe Amundsen, baleine boreale, cetacts, sectionnement par navire, baleine Traduit pour le journal par Maurice Guibord. |
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