Indications of two genetically different subpopulations of Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) in west and northwest Greenland

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (11) ◽  
pp. 1999-2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
L W Andersen ◽  
E W Born
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
The North ◽  
North Water Polynya ◽  
Odobenus Rosmarus ◽  
Length Polymorphisms ◽  
North Water ◽  
Nuclear Microsatellite ◽  
Restriction Length ◽  
Mutational Effect ◽  
Odobenus Rosmarus Rosmarus

Analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA in walruses from northwestern Greenland (76°30'-78°30'N; i.e., in the area of the North Water polynya of northern Baffin Bay and Smith Sound) and west-central Greenland ( 67°-68°N) revealed two genetically distinct subpopulations. The studied sample consisted of tissues from 91 Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) from northwestern Greenland (1989-1990) and 33 Atlantic walruses from western Greenland (1988-1997). The analyses were based upon 12 nuclear microsatellite loci and restriction length polymorphisms observed in the ND1, ND2, and ND3/4 segments of mtDNA. Evolutionary factors creating the observed genetic differences were mainly drift and gene flow, even though a more pronounced mutational effect was observed at the mitochondrial level. Hence, there appears to be some male-mediated gene flow between the two subpopulations, whereas female-mediated gene flow apparently has been restricted for a considerable time. No temporal variation in population structure was detected in the sample from northwestern Greenland. Females collected in the summer season in this area were shown to be philopatric, meaning that closely related females stay and (or) travel together with a mean relatedness value close to the expected relatedness value for half siblings.

scholarly journals Abundance of Atlantic walrus in Western Nares Strait, Baffin Bay Stock, during summer

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert EA Stewart ◽  
Erik W Born ◽  
Rune Dietz ◽  
Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen ◽  
Frank Farsø Rigét ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Surface ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Ellesmere Island ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The North ◽  
North Water Polynya ◽  
Odobenus Rosmarus ◽  
North Water ◽  
Odobenus Rosmarus Rosmarus

Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) belonging to the Baffin Bay subpopulation occur year round in the North Water polynya (NOW) between NW Greenland and eastern Ellesmere Island (Canada). They are hunted for subsistence purposes by residents of the Qaanaaq area (NW Greenland) bordering the NOW to the east and by Canadian Inuit at the entrance to Jones Sound in Nunavut. During the open-water period NW Greenland is virtually devoid of walruses which concentrate along eastern and southern Ellesmere Island at this time of the year. To determine the abundance of walruses in the NOW area, aerial surveys were conducted in August of 1999, 2008, and 2009. In July 2009, nine satellite-linked transmitters were deployed in nearby Kane Basin. Surveys on 9 and 20 August 2009 along eastern Ellesmere Island were the most extensive and were augmented with concomitant data on haul-out and at water surface activity from three (1 F, 2 M) of the nine tags that were still functioning. We therefore focus on the 2009 surveys. Walruses were observed on the ice and in water primarily in Buchanan Bay and Princess Marie Bay where the remaining functional tags were located. The Minimum Counted population (MCP) was 571 on 20 August. Adjusting the MCP of walruses on ice for those not hauled out, the estimate of abundance of walruses in the Baffin Bay stock was 1,251(CV=1.00, 95% CI = 1,226) when adjusted by the proportion of tags ‘dry’ at the time of the survey and 1,249 (CV=1.12, 95% CI = 1,370) when adjusted by the average time tags were dry. The surveys did not cover all potential walrus summering habitat along eastern Ellesmere Island and are negatively biased to an unknown degree.

scholarly journals Living at a High Arctic Polynya: Inughuit Settlement and Subsistence around the North Water during the Thule Station Period, 1910–53

ARCTIC ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjarne Grønnow
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Ringed Seal ◽  
Site Location ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
The North ◽  
North Water Polynya ◽  
Annual Range ◽  
North Water ◽  
The Rich

The settlement and subsistence patterns of the Inughuit of the Avanersuaq (Thule area) are described and analyzed for the years 1910 to 1953, when Knud Rasmussen’s trading station at Dundas was active. Inughuit subsistence was based on the rich biotic resources of the North Water polynya between Ellesmere Island and Greenland, but the analysis shows that trade, primarily with fox furs at the Thule Station, also played a major role in shaping the settlement pattern of the period. During the Thule Station Period, the named winter settlements amounted to c. 40 sites; however, only 10–15 of them were settled at any given time. The Inughuit settlement close to the station, Uummannaq, soon became the largest site in the area. The sources enable us to follow changes of residence of some hunting families over four decades. By moving their winter sites every second or third year, the families gained primary knowledge of the topography and seasonal variation of the hunting grounds in the entire Thule district during their active years. In the same way, they connected with diverse family networks through the years. Tracing the sledge routes that connected the sites over great distances reveals how decisive proximity to main and escape routes over the Ice Cap was for site location. Dog sledge technology, and thus capacity to transport people, gear, and stored food, boomed during the Thule Station Period with the wealth created from trade and access to raw materials. Mapping the main hunting grounds on the sea ice and modeling the hunters’ annual range of possibilities for accessing different game—mainly walrus, ringed seal, narwhal, and sea birds (plus some caribou)—showed that ringed seal formed the bread and butter of the subsistence economy. However, bulk resources, gained in particular from intensive spring walrus hunts at a few hot spots, as well as carefully timed consumption and sharing of the stored meat and blubber, were keys to life at the North Water polynya. Temporary settlement at the trading stations in the area—a couple of winters at a time—was also part of the risk management strategy of the Inughuit.

Integrating cultural and biological perspectives on long-term human-walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) interactions across the North Atlantic

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Xénia Keighley ◽  
Morten Tange Olsen ◽  
Peter Jordan
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Historical Ecology ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Population Modelling ◽  
The North ◽  
Odobenus Rosmarus ◽  
Biological Studies ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Odobenus Rosmarus Rosmarus

AbstractThe hunting of marine mammals as a source of subsistence, trade, and commercial revenue has formed an important part of human cultures across the North Atlantic. One important prey species has been the Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus), sought after for meat, skin, blubber, ivory, and bone. Unfortunately, biological studies of current walrus populations and studies across the humanities and social sciences into past use and hunting of walruses, have been poorly integrated. Disciplinary boundaries have left a gap in understanding the reciprocal effects of human-walrus interactions. Emerging interdisciplinary methods offer new opportunities to write the historical ecology of Atlantic walruses. The integration of methods such as ancient DNA, isotopes, past population modelling, zooarchaeological assemblages, and ethnographic interviews can now be used to answer previously intractable questions. For example, how has walrus hunting shaped and been influenced by changes in human settlement and trade, what have been the cumulative impacts on walrus populations, the extent of anthropogenic selective pressures or the effect of changing hunting regimes on particular populations of walruses? New, collaborative research approaches applied to the wealth of Arctic archaeological faunal remains already housed in museum collections offer a unique chance to explore the past dynamics of human-animal interactions.

The formation and maintenance of the North Water Polynya

2003 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Yao ◽  
C. L. Tang
Keyword(s):  
The North ◽  
North Water Polynya ◽  
North Water

On the estimation of spring melt in the North Water polynya using RADARSAT‐1

2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.J. Yackel ◽  
D.G. Barber ◽  
T.N. Papakyriakou
Keyword(s):  
The North ◽  
North Water Polynya ◽  
North Water

scholarly journals Biomarker characterization of the North Water Polynya, Baffin Bay: Implications for local sea ice and temperature proxies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Harning ◽  
Brooke Holman ◽  
Lineke Woelders ◽  
Anne E. Jennings ◽  
Julio Sepúlveda
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
The North ◽  
North Water Polynya ◽  
Lipid Biomarker ◽  
North Water ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract. The North Water Polynya (NOW, Greenlandic Inuit: Pikialasorsuaq), Baffin Bay, is the largest polynya and one of the most productive regions in the Arctic. This area of thin to absent sea ice is a critical moisture source for local ice sheet sustenance and coupled with the inflow of nutrient-rich Arctic Surface Water, supports a diverse community of Arctic fauna and indigenous people. Although paleoceanographic records can provide critical insight into the NOW’s past behavior, it is critical that we fully understand the modern functionality of the paleoceanographic proxies beforehand. In this study, we analyzed lipid biomarkers, including algal highly-branched isoprenoids and sterols for sea ice extent and pelagic productivity, and algal alkenones and archaeal GDGTs for ocean temperature, in a suite of modern surface sediment samples from within and around the NOW. Our data show that all highly-branched isoprenoids exhibit strong correlations with each other and show highest concentrations within the NOW, which suggests a spring/autumn sea ice diatom source rather than a combination of sea ice and open water diatoms as seen elsewhere in the Arctic. Sterols are also highly concentrated in the NOW and exhibit an order of magnitude higher concentration here compared to sites south of the NOW, consistent with the order of magnitude higher primary productivity observed within the NOW relative to surrounding waters in spring/summer months. Finally, our temperature calibrations for alkenones, GDGTs and OH-GDGTs reduce the uncertainty present in global temperature calibrations, but also identify some additional variables that may be important in controlling their local distribution, such as salinity, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen. Collectively, our datasets provide new insight into the utility of these lipid biomarker proxies in high-latitude settings and will help provide a refined perspective on the Holocene development of the NOW with their application in downcore reconstructions.

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