Encouraging encounters: unusual aggregations of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus in the western Fram Strait

The subpopulation of the bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus in the East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents Sea is endangered and until recently was believed to number in the tens. Recent studies have suggested that this subpopulation appears to be increasing. Here, we report on unusual aggregations of bowhead...

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Published in:Endangered Species Research
Main Authors: de Boer, MN, Janinhoff, N, Nijs, G, Verdaat, H
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Inter-Research 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00948
https://doaj.org/article/008a62955b8548dbb514c3b3098b4c63
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spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:008a62955b8548dbb514c3b3098b4c63 2023-05-15T15:10:39+02:00 Encouraging encounters: unusual aggregations of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus in the western Fram Strait de Boer, MN Janinhoff, N Nijs, G Verdaat, H 2019-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00948 https://doaj.org/article/008a62955b8548dbb514c3b3098b4c63 EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v39/p51-62/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00948 https://doaj.org/article/008a62955b8548dbb514c3b3098b4c63 Endangered Species Research, Vol 39, Pp 51-62 (2019) Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00948 2022-12-31T14:15:11Z The subpopulation of the bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus in the East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents Sea is endangered and until recently was believed to number in the tens. Recent studies have suggested that this subpopulation appears to be increasing. Here, we report on unusual aggregations of bowhead whales within the Fram Strait. We present opportunistic and effort-corrected observations of bowhead whales made from a small expedition vessel during cruises in June (2015-2018). Bowhead whales were sighted on 85 occasions (220-227 whales). An aggregation in 2015 (n = 84 whales) and high numbers in 2018 (n = 104-110) exceeded all previous records. The index of whale abundance was significantly higher in open water-leads (1.08-1.14 whales km-1 of survey effort) compared to areas with drift-ice (0.51-0.53 whales km-1). The highest abundance index was measured in deep waters where the bottom slope was relatively steep. Our findings highlight the temporal and spatial consistency of this species in areas with relatively loose ice cover (open water-leads) and steep slopes. It is unknown how global warming and resultant changes in ice-extent are going to affect bowhead whales within the Strait and whether they will find new feeding grounds due to an expanding open-ocean habitat. These slopes may become increasingly important to bowhead whales and Arctic top predators as a spring/early summer feeding ground. These relatively large numbers of bowhead whales are encouraging and can help direct future research monitoring programs to study the population ecology of these endangered whales. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Balaena mysticetus Barents Sea bowhead whale East Greenland Fram Strait Global warming Greenland Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Svalbard Barents Sea Greenland Endangered Species Research 39 51 62
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
topic Zoology
QL1-991
Botany
QK1-989
spellingShingle Zoology
QL1-991
Botany
QK1-989
de Boer, MN
Janinhoff, N
Nijs, G
Verdaat, H
Encouraging encounters: unusual aggregations of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus in the western Fram Strait
topic_facet Zoology
QL1-991
Botany
QK1-989
description The subpopulation of the bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus in the East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents Sea is endangered and until recently was believed to number in the tens. Recent studies have suggested that this subpopulation appears to be increasing. Here, we report on unusual aggregations of bowhead whales within the Fram Strait. We present opportunistic and effort-corrected observations of bowhead whales made from a small expedition vessel during cruises in June (2015-2018). Bowhead whales were sighted on 85 occasions (220-227 whales). An aggregation in 2015 (n = 84 whales) and high numbers in 2018 (n = 104-110) exceeded all previous records. The index of whale abundance was significantly higher in open water-leads (1.08-1.14 whales km-1 of survey effort) compared to areas with drift-ice (0.51-0.53 whales km-1). The highest abundance index was measured in deep waters where the bottom slope was relatively steep. Our findings highlight the temporal and spatial consistency of this species in areas with relatively loose ice cover (open water-leads) and steep slopes. It is unknown how global warming and resultant changes in ice-extent are going to affect bowhead whales within the Strait and whether they will find new feeding grounds due to an expanding open-ocean habitat. These slopes may become increasingly important to bowhead whales and Arctic top predators as a spring/early summer feeding ground. These relatively large numbers of bowhead whales are encouraging and can help direct future research monitoring programs to study the population ecology of these endangered whales.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author de Boer, MN
Janinhoff, N
Nijs, G
Verdaat, H
author_facet de Boer, MN
Janinhoff, N
Nijs, G
Verdaat, H
author_sort de Boer, MN
title Encouraging encounters: unusual aggregations of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus in the western Fram Strait
title_short Encouraging encounters: unusual aggregations of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus in the western Fram Strait
title_full Encouraging encounters: unusual aggregations of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus in the western Fram Strait
title_fullStr Encouraging encounters: unusual aggregations of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus in the western Fram Strait
title_full_unstemmed Encouraging encounters: unusual aggregations of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus in the western Fram Strait
title_sort encouraging encounters: unusual aggregations of bowhead whales balaena mysticetus in the western fram strait
publisher Inter-Research
publishDate 2019
url https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00948
https://doaj.org/article/008a62955b8548dbb514c3b3098b4c63
geographic Arctic
Svalbard
Barents Sea
Greenland
geographic_facet Arctic
Svalbard
Barents Sea
Greenland
genre Arctic
Balaena mysticetus
Barents Sea
bowhead whale
East Greenland
Fram Strait
Global warming
Greenland
Svalbard
genre_facet Arctic
Balaena mysticetus
Barents Sea
bowhead whale
East Greenland
Fram Strait
Global warming
Greenland
Svalbard
op_source Endangered Species Research, Vol 39, Pp 51-62 (2019)
op_relation https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v39/p51-62/
https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407
https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796
1863-5407
1613-4796
doi:10.3354/esr00948
https://doaj.org/article/008a62955b8548dbb514c3b3098b4c63
op_doi https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00948
container_title Endangered Species Research
container_volume 39
container_start_page 51
op_container_end_page 62
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