Biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland
A decreasing trend in narwhal (Monodon monoceros Linnaeus, 1758) abundance has been identified in a small population in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland. We hypothesize that excessive hunting has affected life history and population dynamics of this population. Biological information and samples...
Published in: | Arctic Science |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2022
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Online Access: | https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/biological-parameters-in-a-declining-population-of-narwhals-monodon-monoceros-in-scoresby-sound-southeast-greenland(de64271a-67c2-40c9-952b-b6c7049d7588).html https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0009 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/310389754/as_2021_0009.pdf |
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ftcopenhagenunip:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/de64271a-67c2-40c9-952b-b6c7049d7588 2024-06-09T07:42:26+00:00 Biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland Garde, Eva Tervo, Outi M. Sinding, Mikkel Holger S. Nielsen, Nynne H. Cornett, Claus Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter 2022 application/pdf https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/biological-parameters-in-a-declining-population-of-narwhals-monodon-monoceros-in-scoresby-sound-southeast-greenland(de64271a-67c2-40c9-952b-b6c7049d7588).html https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0009 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/310389754/as_2021_0009.pdf eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Garde , E , Tervo , O M , Sinding , M H S , Nielsen , N H , Cornett , C & Heide-Jørgensen , M P 2022 , ' Biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland ' , Arctic Science , vol. 8 , no. 2 , pp. 329-348 . https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0009 Arctic Harvest Life history Marine mammal Monodon monoceros article 2022 ftcopenhagenunip https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0009 2024-05-16T11:29:24Z A decreasing trend in narwhal (Monodon monoceros Linnaeus, 1758) abundance has been identified in a small population in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland. We hypothesize that excessive hunting has affected life history and population dynamics of this population. Biological information and samples collected from the Inuit hunt, from satellite-tagged narwhals and from official hunters’ reports, were used to estimate age, growth, and reproduction. During 2007 through 2019, a decreasing proportion of young and increasing proportion of older whales were harvested. Male and female body length and male tusk length increased significantly, while body mass of both sexes showed a nonsignificant increase. The probability of catching a female decreased significantly, while a nonsignificant decline of catching a pregnant female was observed in both biological samples and hunters’ reports. Narwhal swimming speeds correlated with fluke widths indicated that larger whales attain greater speeds. The decline in juveniles and females is probably due to an opportunistic hunting practice targeting the easiest-to-catch whales, where bigger whales are faster and more difficult to catch. The cumulative effect of overharvest with a declining proportion of females, an overrepresentation of large males, and a lack of calves and juveniles has detrimental implications for this small narwhal population. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Greenland inuit Monodon monoceros narwhal* Scoresby Sound University of Copenhagen: Research Arctic Greenland Scoresby ENVELOPE(162.750,162.750,-66.567,-66.567) Arctic Science 8 2 329 348 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Copenhagen: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftcopenhagenunip |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic Harvest Life history Marine mammal Monodon monoceros |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Harvest Life history Marine mammal Monodon monoceros Garde, Eva Tervo, Outi M. Sinding, Mikkel Holger S. Nielsen, Nynne H. Cornett, Claus Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter Biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland |
topic_facet |
Arctic Harvest Life history Marine mammal Monodon monoceros |
description |
A decreasing trend in narwhal (Monodon monoceros Linnaeus, 1758) abundance has been identified in a small population in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland. We hypothesize that excessive hunting has affected life history and population dynamics of this population. Biological information and samples collected from the Inuit hunt, from satellite-tagged narwhals and from official hunters’ reports, were used to estimate age, growth, and reproduction. During 2007 through 2019, a decreasing proportion of young and increasing proportion of older whales were harvested. Male and female body length and male tusk length increased significantly, while body mass of both sexes showed a nonsignificant increase. The probability of catching a female decreased significantly, while a nonsignificant decline of catching a pregnant female was observed in both biological samples and hunters’ reports. Narwhal swimming speeds correlated with fluke widths indicated that larger whales attain greater speeds. The decline in juveniles and females is probably due to an opportunistic hunting practice targeting the easiest-to-catch whales, where bigger whales are faster and more difficult to catch. The cumulative effect of overharvest with a declining proportion of females, an overrepresentation of large males, and a lack of calves and juveniles has detrimental implications for this small narwhal population. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Garde, Eva Tervo, Outi M. Sinding, Mikkel Holger S. Nielsen, Nynne H. Cornett, Claus Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter |
author_facet |
Garde, Eva Tervo, Outi M. Sinding, Mikkel Holger S. Nielsen, Nynne H. Cornett, Claus Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter |
author_sort |
Garde, Eva |
title |
Biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland |
title_short |
Biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland |
title_full |
Biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland |
title_sort |
biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( monodon monoceros ) in scoresby sound, southeast greenland |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/biological-parameters-in-a-declining-population-of-narwhals-monodon-monoceros-in-scoresby-sound-southeast-greenland(de64271a-67c2-40c9-952b-b6c7049d7588).html https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0009 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/310389754/as_2021_0009.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(162.750,162.750,-66.567,-66.567) |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland Scoresby |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland Scoresby |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Greenland inuit Monodon monoceros narwhal* Scoresby Sound |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Greenland inuit Monodon monoceros narwhal* Scoresby Sound |
op_source |
Garde , E , Tervo , O M , Sinding , M H S , Nielsen , N H , Cornett , C & Heide-Jørgensen , M P 2022 , ' Biological parameters in a declining population of narwhals ( Monodon monoceros ) in Scoresby Sound, Southeast Greenland ' , Arctic Science , vol. 8 , no. 2 , pp. 329-348 . https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0009 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0009 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
329 |
op_container_end_page |
348 |
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1801371300976918528 |