The Smaller Cetacea of Eastern Canadian Waters

1957 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Sergeant ◽  
H. D. Fisher

An account is given of the known records, distribution and migrations of the smaller Odontocete whales occurring in eastern Canadian waters, with measurements of specimens obtained of the rarer species. The distribution of the abundant pilot whale Globicephala melaena (Traill) has been studied in most detail. The species' summer range includes both the offshore waters of the Labrador Sea and the coastal waters around Newfoundland. The coastal population feeds only on the squid Illex illecebrosus (LeSueur) and its movements inshore in spring and offshore in autumn follow those of the squid over the southwest Grand Bank. In some years a failure of the squid to move shorewards results in a failure of the fisheries for both squid and pilot whales in Newfoundland. The species is known to winter in an oceanic area southeast of the Grand Bank.The white-sided dolphin Lagenorhynchus acutus Gray associates with the pilot whale and apparently inhabits the same climatic zone in these waters, while the white-beaked dolphin L. albirostris Gray is found in somewhat colder waters. The killer whale Grampus orca (L.) migrates northwards in spring along the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts, its migration coinciding with that of the rorquals.New records for the waters of eastern Canada, extending the known range of each, are given for Mesoplodon bidens, Tursiops truncatus, Lagenorhynchus albirostris and Lagenorhynchus acutus.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
aaron goetz

Abstract Humans have the most sensory neurons of any terrestrial species, 18.83B, with more than twice as many as the runner up western gorilla. There are three aquatic species with more than humans and seven more with more than the western gorilla. The killer whale with more than twice as many as humans, long-finned and short-finned pilot whale with a little less than twice humans. With that many sensory neurons it would be assumed that those would be the species with the most emotional disturbance from anthropogenic influence. There is no data on killer whale endangerment, and both long and short finned pilot whales are LC, ranking them 23rd and 24th most disturbed species. It is important for us to consider what the species means to them in evaluating what species we should care about, it would be beneficial to base that on what species care about themselves the most.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedict E. Singleton

A key question in any environmental dispute is the nature of what is under discussion. 'Cosmopolitics' – political battles over the form of reality – are a feature of many environmental clashes. This article focuses on one such clash: during the summer of 2014, grindadráp – the iconic practice of driving pilot whales for meat – was the big news item in the Faroe Islands. More accurately, a conservation campaign by the controversial group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), Operation Grindstop 2014, garnered most attention. Aiming to stop or at least disrupt the 'barbaric' and 'sadistic' grindadráp, SSCS were involved in several confrontations with Faroese authorities and publicly engaged with Faroese pro-whaling advocates in several discussions that were seemingly fruitless. Based on 3 months fieldwork during the campaign, this article describes a 'political ontology' of Grindstop 2014. What emerged was a 'hybrid' born of a clash between two fundamentally dissonant systems of ordering, which structured and were reinforced by various practices, both discursive and material. Activists on both sides were engaged in a cosmopolitical struggle to decisively enact their orderings, creating alternative stories of whales, Faroese whaling, the ocean environment and modernity. The aim is to understand what happened when these orderings met. This article argues that throughout the summer these two orderings moved apart, consequently hiding the diversity of opinion and discussion within Faroese society around grindadráp. As such, alternative orderings of grindadráp were suppressed, notably those voiced by Faroese activists arguing that the practice should cease because of the high levels of toxins in pilot whale meat.Key words: Faroe Islands, whaling, political ontology, cosmopolitics


Polar Biology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1133-1146 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Reinhart ◽  
S. H. Ferguson ◽  
W. R. Koski ◽  
J. W. Higdon ◽  
B. LeBlanc ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne de Vernal ◽  
Claude Hillaire-Marcel

ABSTRACT Palynological and isotopic analysis in a few deep-sea cores from the Labrador Sea reveals strong environmental changes related to the Late Pleistocene glacial fluctuations over eastern Canada. On the whole, the Labrador Sea was characterized by strong exchanges between North Atlantic water masses, Arctic outflows, and meltwater discharges from Laurentide, Greenland and lnuitian ice sheets. The penetration of temperate Atlantic waters persisted throughout most of the Late Pleistocene, with a brief interruption during the Late Wisconsinan. During this glacial substage, a slight but continuous meltwater runoff from the Laurentide ice margins grounded on the northern Labrador Shelf is indicated by relatively low 18O values and low-salinity (< 30‰) dinocyst assemblages. The calving of the ice margin, the melwater outflow and the subsequent dilution of surface waters offshore Labrador probably contributed to the dispersal of floating ice and, consequently, to a southward displacement of the polar front restraining the penetration of North Atlantic waters into the Labrador Sea. The advection of southern air masses along the Laurentide ice margins, shown by pollen assemblages, was favourable to abundant precipitation and therefore, high ice accumulation rates, especially over northern Labrador during the Late Wisconsinan. The déglaciation is marked by a brief, but significant, melting event of northern Laurentide ice shortly after 17 ka. The main glacial retreat occurred after ca. 11 ka. It allowed restoration of WSW-ENE atmospheric trajectories, increased phytoplanktonic productivity, and penetration of North Atlantic water masses into the Labrador Sea.


1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 1884-1892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liselotte Wesley Andersen

Enzyme variation within and between nine schools of long-finned pilot whales, Globicephala melaena, caught at the Faroe Islands, was examined by starch gel electrophoresis. Twenty-seven enzymes were investigated, representing 41 loci, of which three were polymorphic. The polymorphic enzymes were analyzed in either liver or muscle tissue from 628 specimens. No heterogeneity within the schools was observed, while significant differences in allele frequencies between schools were detected by a multilocus G-test. This result indicated some degree of reproductive isolation.


Ophelia ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 171-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Runge ◽  
Stéphane Plourde

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 550-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. V. Melnikov ◽  
I. A. Zagrebin
Keyword(s):  

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1721) ◽  
pp. 3017-3025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frants H. Jensen ◽  
Jacobo Marrero Perez ◽  
Mark Johnson ◽  
Natacha Aguilar Soto ◽  
Peter T. Madsen

Toothed whales rely on sound to echolocate prey and communicate with conspecifics, but little is known about how extreme pressure affects pneumatic sound production in deep-diving species with a limited air supply. The short-finned pilot whale ( Globicephala macrorhynchus ) is a highly social species among the deep-diving toothed whales, in which individuals socialize at the surface but leave their social group in pursuit of prey at depths of up to 1000 m. To investigate if these animals communicate acoustically at depth and test whether hydrostatic pressure affects communication signals, acoustic DTAGs logging sound, depth and orientation were attached to 12 pilot whales. Tagged whales produced tonal calls during deep foraging dives at depths of up to 800 m. Mean call output and duration decreased with depth despite the increased distance to conspecifics at the surface. This shows that the energy content of calls is lower at depths where lungs are collapsed and where the air volume available for sound generation is limited by ambient pressure. Frequency content was unaffected, providing a possible cue for group or species identification of diving whales. Social calls may be important to maintain social ties for foraging animals, but may be impacted adversely by vessel noise.


Radar studies in eastern Canada of spruce budworm moth distribution patterns and associated windfields frequently revealed mesoscale synoptic features induced by the strong thermal contrast between the heated land surface and the surrounding coastal waters that resulted in significant redistribution of the airborne moths. Experience gained during a four-year study in New Brunswick enabled meteorologists to identify the synoptic situations favouring the development of these mesoscale features. This paper examines the details of a particular case, on 15-16 July 1976, when insect detection teams were alerted in advance to the existence and location of a significant wind convergence zone.


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