Spatial distribution of narwhal (Monodon monoceros L.) diving for Canadian populations helps identify important seasonal foraging areas

• Main Authors: Watt, Cortney, Orr, Jack, Ferguson, Steven H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: NRC Research Press (a division of Canadian Science Publishing) 2016
• Subjects: Arctic; Baffin Bay; Canada; Eclipse Sound; Hudson; Hudson Bay; Hudson Strait; Baffin; Davis Strait; Monodon monoceros; narwhal*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/75372; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjz-2016-0178

In Canada, narwhals (Monodon monoceros L., 1758) are divided into the Baffin Bay (BB) and Northern Hudson Bay (NHB) populations. Satellite tracking of twenty-one narwhals from BB and NHB provided information on their diving behaviour and was used to identify foraging regions. Previous research from hunted narwhals indicated that narwhals in both populations depend on benthic prey to meet their dietary needs. To evaluate home ranges and define areas important for benthic foraging we conducted kernel density analysis on narwhal locations and focused on areas where deep diving occurs, as a proxy for foraging, in the winter, spring and migratory periods. These analyses revealed important areas for foraging for BB narwhals on the summer grounds in Eclipse Sound, and the winter grounds in Davis Strait, as well as on the migratory pathway between regions. Similarly, important areas were identified for the NHB narwhal population in northwestern Hudson Bay in summer, in NHB and Hudson Strait on the migration, and to the east of the entrance to Hudson Strait in the winter. This, along with an analysis of the absolute dive depths provides information on seasons and regions important for foraging, which is particularly relevant with increasing industrial activities in the Arctic. The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author.