First abundance estimate for white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway
The Svalbard Archipelago (Norway) is experiencing rapid declines in the seasonal duration and extent of sea-ice cover, and local tidewater glaciers are melting. These environmental changes represent a threat to ice-associated species in the region, including white whales Delphinapterus leucas. Howev...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:58010dd7d529489eb178d01908f03ce4 2023-05-15T15:10:02+02:00 First abundance estimate for white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway Vacquié-Garcia, J Lydersen, C Marques, TA Andersen, M Kovacs, KM 2020-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01016 https://doaj.org/article/58010dd7d529489eb178d01908f03ce4 EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v41/p253-263/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr01016 https://doaj.org/article/58010dd7d529489eb178d01908f03ce4 Endangered Species Research, Vol 41, Pp 253-263 (2020) Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01016 2022-12-31T05:39:49Z The Svalbard Archipelago (Norway) is experiencing rapid declines in the seasonal duration and extent of sea-ice cover, and local tidewater glaciers are melting. These environmental changes represent a threat to ice-associated species in the region, including white whales Delphinapterus leucas. However, no estimates of stock size or trends are available for this stock. An aerial survey was conducted during the summer of 2018, covering the coastlines of all major islands in Svalbard, as well fjords and open ocean areas. A total count was attempted for the coastlines, while coverage of the fjords and open ocean areas was designed as distance-sampling line transects. In total, 265 white whales were detected in 22 groups along the 4965 km of coastline coverage. No whales were observed on fjord (1481 km) or open ocean transects (535 km). After correcting for surface availability using behavioural data from the same area (in summer) and making adjustments for small areas not flown during the survey, the stock size was estimated to be 549 individuals (95% CI: 436-723). This estimate is surprisingly low given that this species is one of the most frequently observed cetaceans in the area, but it confirms suspicions based on difficulties in finding animals when operating white whale tagging programmes over the past decade. This first population estimate is important in the context of the rapid environmental change taking place in the Arctic and for providing a baseline for comparison with future estimates. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Delphinapterus leucas Sea ice Svalbard White whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago Norway Endangered Species Research 41 253 263 |
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 Vacquié-Garcia, J Lydersen, C Marques, TA Andersen, M Kovacs, KM First abundance estimate for white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway |
topic_facet |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
description |
The Svalbard Archipelago (Norway) is experiencing rapid declines in the seasonal duration and extent of sea-ice cover, and local tidewater glaciers are melting. These environmental changes represent a threat to ice-associated species in the region, including white whales Delphinapterus leucas. However, no estimates of stock size or trends are available for this stock. An aerial survey was conducted during the summer of 2018, covering the coastlines of all major islands in Svalbard, as well fjords and open ocean areas. A total count was attempted for the coastlines, while coverage of the fjords and open ocean areas was designed as distance-sampling line transects. In total, 265 white whales were detected in 22 groups along the 4965 km of coastline coverage. No whales were observed on fjord (1481 km) or open ocean transects (535 km). After correcting for surface availability using behavioural data from the same area (in summer) and making adjustments for small areas not flown during the survey, the stock size was estimated to be 549 individuals (95% CI: 436-723). This estimate is surprisingly low given that this species is one of the most frequently observed cetaceans in the area, but it confirms suspicions based on difficulties in finding animals when operating white whale tagging programmes over the past decade. This first population estimate is important in the context of the rapid environmental change taking place in the Arctic and for providing a baseline for comparison with future estimates. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Vacquié-Garcia, J Lydersen, C Marques, TA Andersen, M Kovacs, KM |
author_facet |
Vacquié-Garcia, J Lydersen, C Marques, TA Andersen, M Kovacs, KM |
author_sort |
Vacquié-Garcia, J |
title |
First abundance estimate for white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway |
title_short |
First abundance estimate for white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway |
title_full |
First abundance estimate for white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway |
title_fullStr |
First abundance estimate for white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
First abundance estimate for white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway |
title_sort |
first abundance estimate for white whales delphinapterus leucas in svalbard, norway |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01016 https://doaj.org/article/58010dd7d529489eb178d01908f03ce4 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago Norway |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago Norway |
genre |
Arctic Delphinapterus leucas Sea ice Svalbard White whale |
genre_facet |
Arctic Delphinapterus leucas Sea ice Svalbard White whale |
op_source |
Endangered Species Research, Vol 41, Pp 253-263 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v41/p253-263/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr01016 https://doaj.org/article/58010dd7d529489eb178d01908f03ce4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01016 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
41 |
container_start_page |
253 |
op_container_end_page |
263 |
_version_ |
1766341108546142208 |