Ringed Seals in James Bay and Hudson Bay: Population Estimates and Catch Statistics

ARCTIC ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Smith
1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 1982-1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. G. Smith ◽  
M. O. Hammill

Coastal reconnaissance and systematic aerial surveys of white whales, Delphinapterus leucas, were flown in James Bay, eastern Hudson Bay, and Ungava Bay. In Ungava Bay the numbers of belugas are so low that we are unable to derive population estimates. In James Bay, we estimate 1213 whales with 95% confidence limits of 740–1970 individuals. In eastern Hudson Bay our systematic survey estimates 968 whales (650–1430), with an additional 474 whales counted in traditional areas of coastal concentration. The age structure of whales inshore and offshore appears similar. Our estimates are conservative, since they do not include a correction for animals which might have been underwater as we passed. Since belugas continue to be hunted in Ungava Bay and eastern Hudson Bay, recommendations are made for a conservative management strategy which must soon be implemented.


1997 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 914-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
N J Lunn ◽  
I Stirling ◽  
S N Nowicki

We flew a medium-altitude, systematic, strip-transect survey for ringed (Phoca hispida) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) over western Hudson Bay in early June 1994 and 1995. The mean density (per square kilometre) of ringed seals hauled out on the ice was four times higher in 1995 (1.690) than in 1994 (0.380). The 1994 survey appeared to underestimate seal abundance because it was flown too late. Ringed seals preferred high ice cover habitat (6 + /8 ice) and, within this habitat, favoured cracking ice and large floes. We found no consistent effect of either wind or cloud cover on habitat preference. We estimated a total of 1980 bearded seals and 140<|>880 ringed seals hauled out on the sea ice in June 1995. A recent review of the relationship between ringed seal and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations suggests that a visible population of this size should support a population of up to 1300 polar bears, which is in general agreement with the current estimate of 1250-1300 bears in western Hudson Bay.


1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 1410-1419 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Wolff ◽  
R. L. Jefferies

Morphological and electrophoretic variation has been documented within and among populations of Salicornia europaea L. (s.l.) in northeastern North America. Univariate and multivariate analyses (discriminant analyses) of measurements of floral and vegetative characters delimited three morphologically distinct groups of populations: Atlantic coast tetraploids (2n = 36), Hudson Bay diploids, and Atlantic coast and James Bay diploids (2n = 18). The two diploid groups were morphologically distinct from the midwestern diploid, S. rubra Nels., based on anther length, width of the scarious border of the fertile segment, and the overall width of the fertile segment. Electrophoretic evidence supported the delimitation of the three distinct morphological groups of populations of S. europaea with the exception of the population from James Bay, which had electrophoretic patterns identical with those of plants from Hudson Bay but resembled the Atlantic coast diploids morphologically. Most enzyme systems assayed were monomorphic. Only homozygous banding patterns were detected in diploid plants and electrophoretic variation was not observed within populations of S. europaea or S. rubra but was detected between groups of populations. Four multilocus phenotypes were evident; these corresponded to the major groups recognized on the basis of ploidy level and morphology. Reasons that may account for the paucity of isozymic variation are discussed.


1932 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. B. HACHEY

The waters of Hudson bay differ markedly from the waters of Hudson strait and the waters of the open ocean. Intense stratification in the upper twenty-five metres, decreasing as the waters of the open ocean are approached, gives Hudson bay the character of a large estuary. Below fifty metres the waters are for all purposes dynamically dead, thus resulting in a cold saline body of water which probably undergoes very little change from season to season. The movements of the waters at various levels are dealt with to show that the inflow of waters from Fox channel and the many fresh-water drainage areas control the hydrographic conditions as found. The main water movement is from the James bay area to Hudson strait and thence to the open ocean.


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