First abundance estimate for white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway

• Published in: Endangered Species Research
• Main Authors: Vacquié-garcia, J, Lydersen, C, Marques, T.A., Andersen, M, Kovacs, Km
• Other Authors: University of St Andrews.Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews.Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews.School of Mathematics and Statistics
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Beluga; Arctic; Baseline population estimate; Climate change; Environmental change; Space use; Adaptation; Prey shifting; QH301 Biology; GE Environmental Sciences; DAS; SDG 13 - Climate Action; QH301; GE; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas; Norwegian Polar Institute; Sea ice; Svalbard; White whale
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10023/19740; https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01016

This study was supported by funds from the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Norwegian Research Council (ICE-WHALES, TIGRIF and GLAERE programmes), the Norwegian Polar Institute’s ICE Centre and the Fram Centre’s Fjord and Coast Flagship. T.A.M. was partially supported by CEAUL (funded by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal, through the project UID/MAT/00006/2019). 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. Peer reviewed