Observations of Marine Birds and Mammals Wintering at Polynyas and Ice Edges in the Belcher Islands, Nunavut, Canada

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Authors: Gilchrist, H. Grant, Robertson, Gregory J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 2000
• Subjects: Belcher Islands; eiders; Somateria; oldsquaw; Clangula hyemalis; ice floe edge; polynyas; îles Belcher; harelde kakawi; bord de floe de glace; polynies; Baie d'Hudson; Baie-d'Hudson; Belcher; Canada; Hudson; Hudson Bay; Nunavut; Phoques; Arctic; Beluga; Beluga whale; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas; Erignathus barbatus; inuit; King Eider; Nyctea scandiaca; Odobenus rosmarus; Phoca hispida; Somateria mollissima; Ursus maritimus; harfang des neiges; walrus*
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/63892

In the Belcher Islands, southeast Hudson Bay, Canada, two types of open water exist during winter: 1) large, wind-driven expanses of water along landfast ice edges and 2) recurring polynyas located between small islands (most <10 ha and <15 m deep). In severe winters, only polynyas persist. In...