Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate
Source at https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z . Background: The Arctic is experiencing rapid reductions in sea ice and in some areas tidal glaciers are melting and retracting onto land. These changes are occurring at extremely rapid rates in the Northeast Atlantic Arctic. The aim of this study...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/14865 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/14865 2023-05-15T14:59:46+02:00 Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate Vacquié-Garcia, Jade Lydersen, Christian Ims, Rolf Anker Kovacs, Kit M. 2018-10-24 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/14865 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z eng eng BMC Movement Ecology info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/RCN/HAVKYST/243808/Norway/TIdewater Glacier Retreat Impact on Fjord circulation and ecosystems/TIGRIF/ Vacquié-Garcia, J., Lydersen, C., Ims, R. A. & Kovacs, K. M. (2018). Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate. Movement Ecology, 6(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z. FRIDAID 1646872 doi:10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z 2051-3933 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/14865 openAccess VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Marinbiologi: 497 Adaptation Arctic Atlantification Beluga Climate change Environmental change Prey shifting Space use Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed 2018 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z 2021-06-25T17:56:28Z Source at https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z . Background: The Arctic is experiencing rapid reductions in sea ice and in some areas tidal glaciers are melting and retracting onto land. These changes are occurring at extremely rapid rates in the Northeast Atlantic Arctic. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of these environmental changes on space use by white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Svalbard, Norway. Using a unique biotelemetry data set involving 34 animals, spanning two decades, habitat use and movement patterns were compared before (1995–2001) and after (2013–2016) a dramatic change in the regional sea ice regime that began in 2006. Results: White whales were extremely coastal in both study periods, remaining near the islands within the Svalbard Archipelago, even when winter sea ice formation pushed them offshore somewhat (later in the year in the recent period), into areas with drifting sea ice (concentrations up to 90%). In both periods, the whales followed the same basic patterns seasonally; they occupied the west coast in summer and shifted to the east coast as winter approached. However, space use did change between the two periods, with the whales spending less time close to tidal glacier fronts in the second period compared to the first (2nd-36% vs 1st-51%), a habitat characterized by low swimming speeds and high turning angles, and more time out in the fjords (2nd-26% vs1st-10%). Use of coastal transit corridors remained the same in both periods; the whales appear to minimize time spent moving between fjords. Conclusions: Glacier fronts have previously been shown to be important foraging areas for white whales in Svalbard and the movement metrics documented in this study confirms that this is still the case. However, use of the Fjords habitat in summer and fall (frequency of occupancy and movement metrics) seen in the recent period suggests that the white whales might now also be feeding on Atlantic prey that is increasingly common in the fjords, concomitant with influxes of Atlantic Water along the west coast of Svalbard. Such behavioural flexibility, if confirmed by further diet studies, would likely be important for white whales in adapting to new conditions in Svalbard. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Atlantic Arctic Atlantic-Arctic Beluga Beluga* Climate change Delphinapterus leucas glacier glacier Northeast Atlantic Sea ice Svalbard University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Arctic Norway Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago Movement Ecology 6 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Marinbiologi: 497 Adaptation Arctic Atlantification Beluga Climate change Environmental change Prey shifting Space use |
spellingShingle |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Marinbiologi: 497 Adaptation Arctic Atlantification Beluga Climate change Environmental change Prey shifting Space use Vacquié-Garcia, Jade Lydersen, Christian Ims, Rolf Anker Kovacs, Kit M. Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
topic_facet |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Marinbiologi: 497 Adaptation Arctic Atlantification Beluga Climate change Environmental change Prey shifting Space use |
description |
Source at https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z . Background: The Arctic is experiencing rapid reductions in sea ice and in some areas tidal glaciers are melting and retracting onto land. These changes are occurring at extremely rapid rates in the Northeast Atlantic Arctic. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of these environmental changes on space use by white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Svalbard, Norway. Using a unique biotelemetry data set involving 34 animals, spanning two decades, habitat use and movement patterns were compared before (1995–2001) and after (2013–2016) a dramatic change in the regional sea ice regime that began in 2006. Results: White whales were extremely coastal in both study periods, remaining near the islands within the Svalbard Archipelago, even when winter sea ice formation pushed them offshore somewhat (later in the year in the recent period), into areas with drifting sea ice (concentrations up to 90%). In both periods, the whales followed the same basic patterns seasonally; they occupied the west coast in summer and shifted to the east coast as winter approached. However, space use did change between the two periods, with the whales spending less time close to tidal glacier fronts in the second period compared to the first (2nd-36% vs 1st-51%), a habitat characterized by low swimming speeds and high turning angles, and more time out in the fjords (2nd-26% vs1st-10%). Use of coastal transit corridors remained the same in both periods; the whales appear to minimize time spent moving between fjords. Conclusions: Glacier fronts have previously been shown to be important foraging areas for white whales in Svalbard and the movement metrics documented in this study confirms that this is still the case. However, use of the Fjords habitat in summer and fall (frequency of occupancy and movement metrics) seen in the recent period suggests that the white whales might now also be feeding on Atlantic prey that is increasingly common in the fjords, concomitant with influxes of Atlantic Water along the west coast of Svalbard. Such behavioural flexibility, if confirmed by further diet studies, would likely be important for white whales in adapting to new conditions in Svalbard. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Vacquié-Garcia, Jade Lydersen, Christian Ims, Rolf Anker Kovacs, Kit M. |
author_facet |
Vacquié-Garcia, Jade Lydersen, Christian Ims, Rolf Anker Kovacs, Kit M. |
author_sort |
Vacquié-Garcia, Jade |
title |
Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
title_short |
Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
title_full |
Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
title_fullStr |
Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
title_full_unstemmed |
Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate |
title_sort |
habitats and movement patterns of white whales delphinapterus leucas in svalbard, norway in a changing climate |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/14865 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z |
geographic |
Arctic Norway Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Norway Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
genre |
Arctic Atlantic Arctic Atlantic-Arctic Beluga Beluga* Climate change Delphinapterus leucas glacier glacier Northeast Atlantic Sea ice Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Atlantic Arctic Atlantic-Arctic Beluga Beluga* Climate change Delphinapterus leucas glacier glacier Northeast Atlantic Sea ice Svalbard |
op_relation |
Movement Ecology info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/RCN/HAVKYST/243808/Norway/TIdewater Glacier Retreat Impact on Fjord circulation and ecosystems/TIGRIF/ Vacquié-Garcia, J., Lydersen, C., Ims, R. A. & Kovacs, K. M. (2018). Habitats and movement patterns of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway in a changing climate. Movement Ecology, 6(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z. FRIDAID 1646872 doi:10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z 2051-3933 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/14865 |
op_rights |
openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0139-z |
container_title |
Movement Ecology |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766331887212560384 |