Estimating abundance of Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowhead whales using genetic mark-recapture analyses
The Eastern Canada-West Greenland (EC-WG) bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) population is widely distributed across the eastern Canadian Arctic and across Baffin Bay to the western coast of Greenland. Their vast distribution makes obtaining population estimates via aerial surveys difficult, as cove...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:bfdf8216741b45f9b526c35ed6e17e62 2023-06-11T04:09:44+02:00 Estimating abundance of Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowhead whales using genetic mark-recapture analyses Brooke A. Biddlecombe Steven H. Ferguson Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen Darren M. Gillis Cortney A. Watt 2023-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02524 https://doaj.org/article/bfdf8216741b45f9b526c35ed6e17e62 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423001592 https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894 2351-9894 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02524 https://doaj.org/article/bfdf8216741b45f9b526c35ed6e17e62 Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 45, Iss , Pp e02524- (2023) Bowhead Mark recapture Population dynamics Jolly-Seber Cormack Jolly-Seber Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02524 2023-05-28T00:32:33Z The Eastern Canada-West Greenland (EC-WG) bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) population is widely distributed across the eastern Canadian Arctic and across Baffin Bay to the western coast of Greenland. Their vast distribution makes obtaining population estimates via aerial surveys difficult, as coverage over their entire range is not possible. Genetic mark recapture analyses address this issue, as biopsy samples can be collected at various locales across the EC-WG bowhead whale population’s distribution and microsatellites can be analyzed to identify unique individuals. EC-WG bowhead whales were subject to intense commercial whaling pressure between the early 1700 s and early 1900 s, after which a moratorium on commercial whaling was put in place in 1915. We used available genetic samples from EC-WG bowhead whales in mark recapture models to estimate population abundance from 2012 to 2021 to gain insight on population dynamics ∼100 years post commercial whaling. The preferred model, using a Jolly-Seber structure, estimated the total abundance as 5173 individuals (CI: 3436–7788). Since the cessation of commercial whaling, the population has been thought to be rebounding, which is reflected by gradually increasing abundance estimates, from the low hundreds in the 1970 s and 1980 s, to ∼6000 in the early 2000 s, but our present estimate suggests population abundance may be plateauing well below the pre-commercial whaling carrying capacity estimate. This population estimate for EC-WG bowhead whales is required to update the population dynamics for conservation efforts. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Balaena mysticetus bowhead whale Greenland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Greenland Global Ecology and Conservation 45 e02524 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Bowhead Mark recapture Population dynamics Jolly-Seber Cormack Jolly-Seber Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Bowhead Mark recapture Population dynamics Jolly-Seber Cormack Jolly-Seber Ecology QH540-549.5 Brooke A. Biddlecombe Steven H. Ferguson Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen Darren M. Gillis Cortney A. Watt Estimating abundance of Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowhead whales using genetic mark-recapture analyses |
topic_facet |
Bowhead Mark recapture Population dynamics Jolly-Seber Cormack Jolly-Seber Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
The Eastern Canada-West Greenland (EC-WG) bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) population is widely distributed across the eastern Canadian Arctic and across Baffin Bay to the western coast of Greenland. Their vast distribution makes obtaining population estimates via aerial surveys difficult, as coverage over their entire range is not possible. Genetic mark recapture analyses address this issue, as biopsy samples can be collected at various locales across the EC-WG bowhead whale population’s distribution and microsatellites can be analyzed to identify unique individuals. EC-WG bowhead whales were subject to intense commercial whaling pressure between the early 1700 s and early 1900 s, after which a moratorium on commercial whaling was put in place in 1915. We used available genetic samples from EC-WG bowhead whales in mark recapture models to estimate population abundance from 2012 to 2021 to gain insight on population dynamics ∼100 years post commercial whaling. The preferred model, using a Jolly-Seber structure, estimated the total abundance as 5173 individuals (CI: 3436–7788). Since the cessation of commercial whaling, the population has been thought to be rebounding, which is reflected by gradually increasing abundance estimates, from the low hundreds in the 1970 s and 1980 s, to ∼6000 in the early 2000 s, but our present estimate suggests population abundance may be plateauing well below the pre-commercial whaling carrying capacity estimate. This population estimate for EC-WG bowhead whales is required to update the population dynamics for conservation efforts. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brooke A. Biddlecombe Steven H. Ferguson Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen Darren M. Gillis Cortney A. Watt |
author_facet |
Brooke A. Biddlecombe Steven H. Ferguson Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen Darren M. Gillis Cortney A. Watt |
author_sort |
Brooke A. Biddlecombe |
title |
Estimating abundance of Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowhead whales using genetic mark-recapture analyses |
title_short |
Estimating abundance of Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowhead whales using genetic mark-recapture analyses |
title_full |
Estimating abundance of Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowhead whales using genetic mark-recapture analyses |
title_fullStr |
Estimating abundance of Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowhead whales using genetic mark-recapture analyses |
title_full_unstemmed |
Estimating abundance of Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowhead whales using genetic mark-recapture analyses |
title_sort |
estimating abundance of eastern canada-west greenland bowhead whales using genetic mark-recapture analyses |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02524 https://doaj.org/article/bfdf8216741b45f9b526c35ed6e17e62 |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Balaena mysticetus bowhead whale Greenland |
genre_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Balaena mysticetus bowhead whale Greenland |
op_source |
Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 45, Iss , Pp e02524- (2023) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423001592 https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894 2351-9894 doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02524 https://doaj.org/article/bfdf8216741b45f9b526c35ed6e17e62 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02524 |
container_title |
Global Ecology and Conservation |
container_volume |
45 |
container_start_page |
e02524 |
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1768383719614185472 |