A multi-year study of narwhal occurrence in the western Fram Strait—detected via passive acoustic monitoring

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) has proven to be an efficient method for studying vocally active marine mammals in areas that are difficult to access on a year-round basis. In this study, a PAM recorder was deployed on an oceanographic mooring in western Fram Strait (78°50'N, 5°W) to record t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Research
Main Authors: Heidi Ahonen, Kathleen M. Stafford, Christian Lydersen, Laura de Steur, Kit M. Kovacs
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2019
Subjects:
Arctic
echolocation
Monodon monoceros
seasonal distribution
vocalization
whales
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Oceanography
GC1-1581
Atlantic Arctic
Atlantic-Arctic
Fram Strait
narwhal*
Polar Research
Sea ice
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3468
https://doaj.org/article/75ef5faab5154208aed904ae9c89ced5
Description
Summary:Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) has proven to be an efficient method for studying vocally active marine mammals in areas that are difficult to access on a year-round basis. In this study, a PAM recorder was deployed on an oceanographic mooring in western Fram Strait (78°50'N, 5°W) to record the acoustic presence of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) over a 3-yr period. Acoustic data were recorded for 14–17 min at the start of each hour from 25 September 2010 to 26 August 2011, from 2 September 2012 to 11 April 2013 and from 8 September 2013 to 27 April 2014. Pulsed and tonal signals, as well as echolocation clicks, were detected throughout the recording periods, demonstrating that this species is present in this region throughout the year. Generalized linear mixed-effect models showed a negative correlation between the acoustic presence of narwhals and very dense sea-ice cover (≥90%). Surprisingly, a positive correlation was found between the acoustic presence of narwhals and the presence of warm Atlantic Water in the area. Available data suggest that there might be a unique stock of narwhals in the Eurasian sector of the Atlantic Arctic that do not exhibit the “traditional” narwhal pattern of seasonal migration between coastal summering areas and offshore wintering grounds, but rather remain resident year-round in deep, offshore waters.

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