Diving behaviour of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) at two coastal localities in the Canadian High Arctic

In August 1999 and 2000, four suction-cup-attached timedepth recorders (TDRs) were deployed and retrieved from narwhals (Monodon monoceros) in Tremblay Sound, Baffin Island, and Creswell Bay, Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada. The TDRs remained on the whales for between 12 and 33 h and collected 64.5 h of dive data. Mean dive depths ranged from 20.8 m (SD = 14.8 m) to 50.8 m (SD = 43.8 m) and mean dive durations ranged from 3.4 min (SD = 1.6 min) to 4.9 min (SD = 4.5 min). There appeared to be individual differences in dive parameters both within a region and between regions. Three of the whales made short, shallow dives, while another whale made dives twice as deep and twice as long. One whale had maximum dive durations (>20 min) that exceeded predicted aerobic dive limits for narwhals. There was a strong relationship between maximum dive depth and duration for all whales (p < 0.0001). Narwhals spent between 30.3 and 52.9% of their time at depths <5 m and the range of correction factors for availability bias was 1.93.3. Satellite-linked TDRs were simultaneously deployed on the whales at both localities. Dive data collected using the two methods were compared and good agreement between the methods was obtained.

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The migratory behaviour of narwhals (Monodon monoceros)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z03-117 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 81 (8) ◽

pp. 1298-1305 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen ◽

Rune Dietz ◽

Kristin L Laidre ◽

Pierre Richard ◽

Jack Orr ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Open Water ◽

High Arctic ◽

Early Summer ◽

Canadian High Arctic ◽

Baffin Bay ◽

Bay Area ◽

Monodon Monoceros ◽

Migratory Routes ◽

Somerset Island ◽

Wintering Ground

Sixteen female narwhals (Monodon monoceros) were tracked by satellite in 2000 and 2001 from their summering ground near Somerset Island in the Canadian High Arctic to their wintering ground in central Baffin Bay. The wintering ground location was spatially discrete from another narwhal wintering ground in southern Baffin Bay. Area extent of the summering ground was approximately 9464 km2 and area extent of the wintering ground was 25 846 km2. Two of the narwhals were tracked for more than 12 consecutive months. These whales used three focal areas between their spring and autumn migration: a coastal area in the open-water season in August in the Canadian High Arctic, a wintering area from November through April in the consolidated pack ice of Baffin Bay, and an early summer area in front of the receding fast ice edge in Lancaster Sound. The whales showed remarkable site fidelity to summering grounds and had specific migratory routes that followed sea ice formation and recession.

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Distribution and Movements of Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in the Canadian High Arctic

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f94-166 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 51 (7) ◽

pp. 1653-1663 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Thomas G. Smith ◽

A. R. Martin

Keyword(s):

Coastal Waters ◽

High Arctic ◽

Delphinapterus Leucas ◽

Canadian High Arctic ◽

Directed Movement ◽

Seasonal Movements ◽

Devon Island ◽

Aerial Surveys ◽

Fast Ice ◽

Somerset Island

Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, move into the coastal waters of Somerset Island as soon as the annual land-fast ice breaks up in late June – early July. Six bays or inlets which receive the outflow of rivers are the major areas of summer aggregation. Belugas captured and equipped with satellite-linked UHF transmitters in Cunningham Inlet (Barrow Strait), Elwin Bay (Prince Regent Inlet), and Creswell Bay moved west into Peel Sound where they frequented two other estuaries. Rapid and directed movement out of Peel Sound occurred in late August. All of the animals which transmitted locations into September or October moved to eastern Devon Island and Jones Sound. The longest period of transmission was 75 d, lasting until mid-October. Belugas tagged in three different locations around Somerset Island in the summers of 1988–93 showed a well-defined and consistent pattern of behaviour. Aerial surveys done during this period confirm that the vast majority of belugas in this region are involved in these seasonal movements.

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Distribution and abundance of Canadian High Arctic belugas, 1974-1979

NAMMCO Scientific Publications ◽

10.7557/3.2839 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 87 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

William R Koski ◽

Kerwin J Finley

Keyword(s):

Late Summer ◽

High Arctic ◽

Delphinapterus Leucas ◽

Polar Cod ◽

Canadian High Arctic ◽

Devon Island ◽

The North ◽

Polar Cod Boreogadus Saida ◽

North Water ◽

Somerset Island

We conducted >236,000 km of aerial surveys and some supplementary studies of belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in the central and eastern Canadian High Arctic in 974-79. Belugas that wintered in the “North Water” in Baffin Bay moved southwest into Lancaster Sound in April and early May. The main westward migration into Lancaster Sound occurred over a 2 to 3 week period during late June to late July. Estuaries along Somerset Island were occupied for <3 weeks from mid-July to mid-August. Little feeding occurred in estuaries. From mid-August until fall migration began in mid-September belugas occupied estuaries and offshore waters in Peel Sound. Fall migration eastward through Lancaster Sound was exclusively along the south coast of Devon Island, highly co-ordinated, and rapid; most of the population passed through the sound in <1 week. The whales then moved north along the east coast of Devon Island; some entered Jones Sound while others crossed directly to SE Ellesmere Island. Most calving occurred in July and early August; calving was not seen in estuaries and probably occurred offshore. Excluding calves, adults and yearlings formed 77% and 8.4%, respectively, of the population. The proportion of calves during mid-August was consistent with a triennial calving cycle. During late summer, belugas fed on coastal concentrations of polar cod (Boreogadus saida), under pan ice offshore (probably on cod), and in deep offshore waters. The size of the Canadian High Arctic population in the late 1970s was estimated to be at least 10,250 to 12,000 animals without allowing for animals that may have passed between surveys or that were below the surface at the time of the counts.

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Palynology of six middle and late Holocene peat sections, Baffin Island

Géographie physique et Quaternaire ◽

10.7202/1000384ar ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 61-75 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Susan K. Short ◽

John T. Andrews

Keyword(s):

Late Holocene ◽

High Arctic ◽

Baffin Island ◽

Canadian High Arctic ◽

Shrub Willow ◽

Pollen Diagrams ◽

Pollen Rain ◽

Middle And Late Holocene

Palynological investigations were undertaken at six sites on the northern Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island. Pollen assemblages from the Canadian High Arctic are rare, and the purpose of this paper is to expand this record. Twelve pollen diagrams from the six sites are presented. They suggest that over the last 1000 years, the pollen rain has been dominated by pollen of the gra-minoid group. This contrasts with earlier pollen assemblages between 2500 and 2000 years BP and between 5000 and 4000 BP which were typically more diverse and included significant quantities of heath and shrub (willow) pollen. A pronounced willow peak is evident on the diagrams and dates from ca. 2500 BP.

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Foraging ecology of ringed seals (Pusa hispida), beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) and narwhals (Monodon monoceros) in the Canadian High Arctic determined by stomach content and stable isotope analysis

Polar Research ◽

10.3402/polar.v34.24295 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 24295 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Jordan K. Matley ◽

Aaron T. Fisk ◽

Terry A. Dick

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Foraging Ecology ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

High Arctic ◽

Delphinapterus Leucas ◽

Canadian High Arctic ◽

Beluga Whales ◽

Ringed Seals ◽

Monodon Monoceros ◽

Pusa Hispida

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Distribution and Abundance of Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, and Narwhals, Monodon monoceros, in the Canadian High Arctic

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f85-087 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 42 (4) ◽

pp. 676-684 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

T. G. Smith ◽

M. O. Hammsll ◽

D. J. Burrage ◽

G. A. Sleno

Keyword(s):

Scientific Literature ◽

High Arctic ◽

Delphinapterus Leucas ◽

Confidence Limits ◽

Canadian High Arctic ◽

Monodon Monoceros ◽

Aerial Surveys ◽

Strip Transect

Opportunistic reconnaissance aerial surveys of Lancaster Sound, Barrow Strait, Peel Sound, and Prince Regent Inlet were conducted between 1974 and 1982 to determine the distribution and abundance of belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, and narwhals, Monodon monoceros. In 1981, two stratified strip-transect surveys were flown. From these we estimate that a total of 6300 – 18 600 belugas and approximately 13 200 –18 000 narwhals summer in Lancaster Sound and adjoining waterways. Improvement in the precision of these estimates would require a substantial increase in survey coverage and may not be justified considering the significant increase in costs. Our review of the results of surveys conducted since 1975 in the same study area, of which most of the information is not yet available in the scientific literature, shows much duplication of effort, little increase in information, and a lack of confidence limits for the estimated numbers.

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Intercomparison of atmospheric water vapour measurements in the Canadian high Arctic

10.5194/amt-2016-330 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Dan Weaver ◽

Kimberly Strong ◽

Matthias Schneider ◽

Penny M. Rowe ◽

Chris Sioris ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Vapour ◽

Microwave Radiometer ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

High Arctic ◽

Atmospheric Water ◽

Canadian High Arctic ◽

Solar Absorption ◽

Atmospheric Water Vapour ◽

Retrieval Technique ◽

Good Agreement

Abstract. Water vapour is a critical component of the Earth system. Techniques to acquire and improve measurements of atmospheric water vapour and its isotopes are under active development. This work presents a detailed intercomparison of water vapour total column measurements taken between 2006 and 2014 at a Canadian high Arctic research site. Instruments include radiosondes, sun photometers, a microwave radiometer, and emission and solar absorption Fourier transform spectrometers (FTSs). Good agreement is observed between all combination of datasets, with correlation coefficients ≥ 0.90 showing high correlations. A variety of biases and calibration issues are revealed and discussed for all instruments. A new FTS dataset, resulting from the MUSICA (Multi-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water) retrieval technique, is shown to offer accurate measurements of water vapour total columns; however, measurements show a small wet bias of approximately 6 %. A new dataset derived from Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) measurements is also shown to provide accurate water vapour measurements, which usefully enables measurements to be taken during day and night (especially valuable during Polar Night). In addition, limited profile comparisons are conducted using radiosonde and ground-based FTS measurements. Results show MUSICA FTS profiles were within 15 % of radiosonde measurements throughout the troposphere.

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