Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate
Abstract Background The Arctic is experiencing rapid reductions in sea ice and in some areas tidal glaciers are melting and retracting onto land. These changes are occurring at extremely rapid rates in the Northeast Atlantic Arctic. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of these envir...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:501102f26d1b4f17af64564c62f30e05 2023-05-15T14:58:13+02:00 Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate Jade Vacquié-Garcia Christian Lydersen Rolf A. Ims Kit M. Kovacs 2018-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z https://doaj.org/article/501102f26d1b4f17af64564c62f30e05 EN eng BMC http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z https://doaj.org/toc/2051-3933 doi:10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z 2051-3933 https://doaj.org/article/501102f26d1b4f17af64564c62f30e05 Movement Ecology, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2018) Adaptation Arctic Atlantification Beluga Climate change Environmental change Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z 2022-12-31T03:20:26Z Abstract Background The Arctic is experiencing rapid reductions in sea ice and in some areas tidal glaciers are melting and retracting onto land. These changes are occurring at extremely rapid rates in the Northeast Atlantic Arctic. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of these environmental changes on space use by white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Svalbard, Norway. Using a unique biotelemetry data set involving 34 animals, spanning two decades, habitat use and movement patterns were compared before (1995–2001) and after (2013–2016) a dramatic change in the regional sea ice regime that began in 2006. Results White whales were extremely coastal in both study periods, remaining near the islands within the Svalbard Archipelago, even when winter sea ice formation pushed them offshore somewhat (later in the year in the recent period), into areas with drifting sea ice (concentrations up to 90%). In both periods, the whales followed the same basic patterns seasonally; they occupied the west coast in summer and shifted to the east coast as winter approached. However, space use did change between the two periods, with the whales spending less time close to tidal glacier fronts in the second period compared to the first (2nd-36% vs 1st-51%), a habitat characterized by low swimming speeds and high turning angles, and more time out in the fjords (2nd-26% vs1st-10%). Use of coastal transit corridors remained the same in both periods; the whales appear to minimize time spent moving between fjords. Conclusions Glacier fronts have previously been shown to be important foraging areas for white whales in Svalbard and the movement metrics documented in this study confirms that this is still the case. However, use of the Fjords habitat in summer and fall (frequency of occupancy and movement metrics) seen in the recent period suggests that the white whales might now also be feeding on Atlantic prey that is increasingly common in the fjords, concomitant with influxes of Atlantic Water along the west coast of ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Atlantic Arctic Atlantic-Arctic Beluga Beluga* Climate change Delphinapterus leucas glacier glacier Northeast Atlantic Sea ice Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Norway Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago Movement Ecology 6 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Adaptation Arctic Atlantification Beluga Climate change Environmental change Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
spellingShingle |
Adaptation Arctic Atlantification Beluga Climate change Environmental change Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Jade Vacquié-Garcia Christian Lydersen Rolf A. Ims Kit M. Kovacs Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
topic_facet |
Adaptation Arctic Atlantification Beluga Climate change Environmental change Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
Abstract Background The Arctic is experiencing rapid reductions in sea ice and in some areas tidal glaciers are melting and retracting onto land. These changes are occurring at extremely rapid rates in the Northeast Atlantic Arctic. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of these environmental changes on space use by white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Svalbard, Norway. Using a unique biotelemetry data set involving 34 animals, spanning two decades, habitat use and movement patterns were compared before (1995–2001) and after (2013–2016) a dramatic change in the regional sea ice regime that began in 2006. Results White whales were extremely coastal in both study periods, remaining near the islands within the Svalbard Archipelago, even when winter sea ice formation pushed them offshore somewhat (later in the year in the recent period), into areas with drifting sea ice (concentrations up to 90%). In both periods, the whales followed the same basic patterns seasonally; they occupied the west coast in summer and shifted to the east coast as winter approached. However, space use did change between the two periods, with the whales spending less time close to tidal glacier fronts in the second period compared to the first (2nd-36% vs 1st-51%), a habitat characterized by low swimming speeds and high turning angles, and more time out in the fjords (2nd-26% vs1st-10%). Use of coastal transit corridors remained the same in both periods; the whales appear to minimize time spent moving between fjords. Conclusions Glacier fronts have previously been shown to be important foraging areas for white whales in Svalbard and the movement metrics documented in this study confirms that this is still the case. However, use of the Fjords habitat in summer and fall (frequency of occupancy and movement metrics) seen in the recent period suggests that the white whales might now also be feeding on Atlantic prey that is increasingly common in the fjords, concomitant with influxes of Atlantic Water along the west coast of ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jade Vacquié-Garcia Christian Lydersen Rolf A. Ims Kit M. Kovacs |
author_facet |
Jade Vacquié-Garcia Christian Lydersen Rolf A. Ims Kit M. Kovacs |
author_sort |
Jade Vacquié-Garcia |
title |
Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
title_short |
Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
title_full |
Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
title_fullStr |
Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
title_full_unstemmed |
Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
title_sort |
habitats and movement patterns of white whales delphinapterus leucas in svalbard, norway in a changing climate |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z https://doaj.org/article/501102f26d1b4f17af64564c62f30e05 |
geographic |
Arctic Norway Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Norway Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
genre |
Arctic Atlantic Arctic Atlantic-Arctic Beluga Beluga* Climate change Delphinapterus leucas glacier glacier Northeast Atlantic Sea ice Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Atlantic Arctic Atlantic-Arctic Beluga Beluga* Climate change Delphinapterus leucas glacier glacier Northeast Atlantic Sea ice Svalbard |
op_source |
Movement Ecology, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z https://doaj.org/toc/2051-3933 doi:10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z 2051-3933 https://doaj.org/article/501102f26d1b4f17af64564c62f30e05 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z |
container_title |
Movement Ecology |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766330307758260224 |