Climate Change and Baleen Whale Trophic Cascades in Greenland

• Main Authors: Laidre, Kristin L, Heide-Joergensen, Mads P
• Other Authors: WASHINGTON UNIV SEATTLE POLAR SCIENCE CENTER
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Biology; Ecology; Biological Oceanography; *CLIMATE CHANGE; *WHALES; ARCTIC REGIONS; BAFFIN BAY; FEEDING; FOOD CHAINS; GREENLAND; PHYTOPLANKTON; SEA ICE; SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION; ZOOPLANKTON; BALEEN WHALES; BOWHEAD WHALES; HUMPBACK WHALES; TEMPORAL OVERLAP; Arctic; Baffin Bay; Greenland; Nuuk; Baffin; baleen whale; baleen whales; Climate change; Disko Bay; Greenland Institute of Natural Resources; Phytoplankton; Sea ice; Zooplankton
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA557943; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA557943

We focused on two cetacean species in Disko Bay, West Greenland and asked the following questions: (1) What is the spatial and temporal overlap between bowhead whales, phytoplankton, and zooplankton after the spring sea ice breakup in April and May? , and (2) What is the spatial and temporal overlap between humpback whales and capelin in June and July, and (3) on what space and time scales do these two large whales overlap? Answering these questions enabled us to determine the spatial, temporal, and ecological overlap between these two top predators in West Greenland. This is one of the few high Arctic studies conducted on the multi-species trophic coupling between whales and their prey. The simplicity of the food chains in West Greenland offer unique opportunities to gain insight into predator-prey dynamics also relevant to more complex ecosystems. Prepared in cooperation with Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland. The original document contains color images.