scholarly journals Catch statistics for belugas in West Greenland 1862 to 1999

2002 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
MP Heide-Jørgensen ◽  
A Rosing-Asvid
Keyword(s):  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
The Past ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Catch Statistics ◽  
Loss Rates

Information and statistics including trade statistics on catches of white whales or belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland since 1862 are presented. The period before 1952 was dominated by large catches south of 66o N that peaked with 1,380 reported kills in 1922. Catch levels in the past five decades are evaluated on the basis of official catch statistics, trade in mattak (whale skin), sampling of jaws and reports from local residents and other observers. Options are given for corrections of catch statistics based upon auxiliary statistics on trade of mattak, catches in previous decades for areas without reporting and on likely levels of loss rates in different hunting operations. The fractions of the reported catches that are caused by ice entrapments of whales are estimated. During 1954-1999 total reported catches ranged from 216 to 1,874 and they peaked around 1970. Correcting for underreporting and killed-but-lost whales increases the catch reports by 42% on average for 1954-1998. If the whales killed in ice entrapments are removed then the corrected catch estimate is on average 28% larger than the reported catches.

Impact of Major Highways on the Wildlife Population in Kingston and Frontenac County

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paige Robinson ◽  
Gavin Mclaughlin ◽  
Michael O'Meara ◽  
Hilary Ouellette
Keyword(s):  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Ecological Environment ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
The Past ◽  
Local Organizations ◽  
Local Species ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Wildlife Populations

Over the past five years, there has been an abundance of interest concerning the ecological effects of major Ontario highways on the habitats and ecosystems of many wildlife populations. The primary concern with multilane, high-traffic freeways is that they typically divide existing habitats into relatively isolated zones. Consequently, this separates individuals within a population from other members of the same population, and also excludes access to many natural resources. The majority of the resultant issues for wildlife fall under three main categories; the collision based mortalities of organisms and the consequences on local residents, the halting of gene flow amongst the wildlife populations, and the physical intrusion and/or noise pollution adversely affecting the quality of habitat for local species. Based on these concerning issues, it is crucial for a sustainable solution to be developed and implemented in appropriate areas within Kingston and the surrounding Frontenac County. Our approach involves an extensive literature review, which will assist us in observing similar problems around the globe, as well as various solutions that have been executed to fix these said problems. Furthermore, we will conduct a thorough investigation of local organizations’ existing studies to obtain relevant data and statistics which will assist us in determining the effects high-traffic freeways have on the surrounding ecological environment. It is through this research that we hope to present valid findings on the multilane highways impact to local ecosystems and landscapes, as well as produce possible planning options for intervention and suggest key areas for further examination.

scholarly journals Topographic and Glaciological Controls on Holocene Ice-Sheet Margin Dynamics. Central West Greenland

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 307-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.R. Warren ◽  
N.R.J. Hulton
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Warm Climate ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The West ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
The Past

The retreat of the West Greenland ice sheet from its Sisimiut (Wisconsinan) glacial maximum, was punctuated by a series of Stillstands or small readvances that formed numerous moraines. These landforms have been interpreted in the past as the result of short-term, regional falls in ablation-season temperatures. However, mapping of the geomorphological evidence south of Ilulissat (Jakobshavn) suggests that retreat behaviour was not primarily governed by climate, and therefore that the former ice margins are not palaeoclimatically significant. During warm climate ice-sheet wastage, the successive quasi-stable positions adopted by the ice margin were largely governed by topography. The retreat of the inherently unstable calving glaciers was arrested only at topographically-determined locations where stability could be achieved.

scholarly journals Diet of St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) in a changing ecosystem

2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-35
Author(s):  
Véronique Lesage ◽  
Stéphane Lair ◽  
Samuel Turgeon ◽  
Pierre Béland
Keyword(s):  
Prey Availability ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Current Time ◽  
Lawrence Estuary ◽  
The Past ◽  
Important Prey ◽  
St Lawrence Estuary

Ecosystems and community structure fluctuate over time as a result of natural and anthropogenic factors that may affect prey availability and population dynamics. Most of what we know about St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) diet comes from stomach contents collected 80 years ago mainly from a hunting site that Beluga no longer use. How reflective these data are of Beluga diet at other sites and at the current time is unknown. In the context of the recent population decline, general information of prey species alone may help identify useful conservation actions for potentially important prey or habitats. Here, we examined the diet of SLE Beluga using digestive tracts collected from carcasses recovered over the past 30 years, in the context of historical diet data and recent changes in the St. Lawrence ecosystem. We showed they have a varied diet composed of fish and invertebrates generally <30 cm in length, and that adult males and females differ in their summer diet in a way that is consistent with the sex segregation observed in this population. Our results also indicate that polychaete worms, squid, and cod are still among the most prevalent prey, and that species such as redfish (Sebastes spp.) might be important prey items. This study shows that Beluga diet has changed since the 1930s, and that prey from digestive tracts identified to species are valuable for making comparisons to the past, and for improving applications of molecular analyses, such as stable isotopes and fatty acids.

Soviet Selves

2019 ◽  
pp. 60-81
Author(s):  
Justine Buck Quijada
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
World War ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Soviet History ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Religious Actors

Chapter 2 presents the Soviet chronotope embodied in Victory Day celebrations. Victory Day, which is the celebration of the Soviet victory over Germany in World War II, presumes the familiar Soviet genre of history, in which the Soviet Union brought civilization to Buryatia, and Buryats achieved full citizenship in the Soviet utopian dream through their collective sacrifice during the war. The ritual does not narrate Soviet history. Instead, through Soviet and wartime imagery, and the parade form, the public holiday evokes this genre in symbolic form, enabling local residents to read their own narratives of the past into the imagery. This space for interpretation enables both validation as well as critique of the Soviet experience in Buryatia. Although not everyone in Buryatia agrees on how to evaluate this history, this genre is the taken-for-granted backdrop against which other religious actors define their narratives.

scholarly journals The Resilient Bond With Zhujiajiao: (Re)making Community in a Chinese Tourism Town

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-135
Author(s):  
Siyang Cao ◽  
Wenzhi Wu
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Contemporary China ◽  
The Past ◽  
Chinese Perspective ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Analytical Importance ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article examines how community has been reinterpreted and remade among local residents in relation to the development of tourism in Zhujiajiao, China. Focusing on the narratives and practices of long-term residents, it was found that people generally maintain a resilient bond with their community in Zhujiajiao despite profound local changes. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the article brings to light the complicated and contextual meanings of community that are constantly under negotiation. We argue that the notion of community is reconstructed through narratives of the past, everyday social interactions, and material connections between people and places. Meanwhile, the process of remaking Zhujiajiao community is shaped by cultural values and situated within wider structural conditions. In this way, the article contributes to debates on the analytical importance of relationality and sociality in the recent rethinking of community from a Chinese perspective. It also argues for the need to develop more nuanced understandings of community in contemporary China beyond viewing it as a form of urban governance by focusing on residents’ narratives and practices.

scholarly journals Luiz Rau creek and the city of Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul

2015 ◽  
Vol 75 (4 suppl 2) ◽  
pp. 10-15
Author(s):  
C. Schemes ◽  
D. Castilhos-Araujo ◽  
M. Lima-Magalhães
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Household Waste ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Past ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
The City

This article presents a reflection on the past and current history, uses, and significance of the Luiz Rau creek to the municipality of Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul. Its waters have always been important to the region, quenching the thirst of the local population and their livestock and providing venues for shared social interactions, but also as a destination for municipal industrial and household waste, which has polluted the waters of the creek. Our primary objective is to present and discuss these aspects with the purpose of elucidating the historical importance of this watercourse to the city of Novo Hamburgo. Toward that end, we conducted an exploratory survey to obtain the necessary inputs for such a discussion. We also employed texts from the now-defunct Jornal 5 de Abril and from Jornal NH, the highest-circulating newspaper in the region, to illustrate some situations experienced by the community. We found that municipal waste continues to be dumped into the creek, which has made it rather unloved by the local residents, but it remains firmly present in their daily lives.

Observations on Distribution and Intraspecific Variation in Pigmentation Patterns of Odontocete Cetacea in the Western North Atlantic

1973 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1111-1130 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Mercer
Keyword(s):  
Intraspecific Variation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Intraspecific Variability ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Monodon Monoceros

This paper comprises sight records for nine species and morphometries, color descriptions, and miscellaneous notes on the food and parasites of seven species of small odontocetes observed from West Greenland to Florida 1967–72. Of interest are the first western Atlantic extralimital record of Monodon monoceros, first Newfoundland records of Stenella coeruleoalba, and extralimital records of Delphinapterus leucas from Newfoundland. Intraspecific variability is described in the pigmentation patterns of Phocoena phocoena.

scholarly journals Population size and yield of Baffin Bay beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) stocks

2002 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Innes ◽  
Robert EA Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Population Biology ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Production Model ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Stock Size ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
The North ◽  
North Water

A surplus production model within a Sampling, Importance Resampling (SIR) Bayesian analysis was used to estimate stock sizes and yields of Baffin Bay belugas. The catch of belugas in West Greenland increased in 1968 and has remained well above sustainable rates. SIR analysis indicated a decline of about 50% between 1981 and 1994, with a credibility interval that included a previous estimate of 62%. The estimated stock sizes of belugas wintering off West Greenland in 1998 and 1999 were approximately 5,100 and 4,100 respectively and were not significantly different than an estimate based on aerial surveys combined for both years. Projected to 1999 this stock can sustain median landings of 109 whales with a total kill of about 155, based on posterior estimates of struck and lost plus under-reporting. The declining stock size index series did not provide sufficient information to estimate the potential maximum rate of population growth, the number of whales struck and lost, or the shape of the production curve with precision. Estimating these parameters requires an index time series with a marked step change in catch or a series with increasing stock sizes. The stock size estimate for the belugas wintering in the North Water in 1999 was approximately 14,800 but there is no information about the population biology of these whales. The estimated maximum sustainable yield (landed) for the North Water stock was 317 belugas.

scholarly journals Utilization of digital materials as a research resource for historical materials and applied interdisciplinary research for history and archaeology, including the research work and projects of Prof. Sato and Prof. Kikuchi

Impact ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (8) ◽  
pp. 82-84
Author(s):  
Hiroki Kikuchi ◽  
Asei Sato
Keyword(s):  
Research Work ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Important Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Historical Materials ◽  
Cultural Importance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Important Means ◽  
The University

The preservation of historical artefacts is an important means of understanding more about the past. Japan is home to thousands of stone inscriptions, many of which are not stored in research institutions of museums, but rather, are scattered across the country in places like roadsides or graveyards in rural locations. While these inscriptions might well be of interest to local residents, there is a need to increase awareness of their cultural importance. A team led by Hiroki Kikuchi, who is based at The Historiographical Institute within The University of Tokyo in Japan, is working to create a database which will digitise 2,700 inscription rubbings. The database will be open to the public and will provide a fascinating historical narrative as well as an important research resource.

scholarly journals Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257054
Author(s):  
Marie J. Zahn ◽  
Kristin L. Laidre ◽  
Peter Stilz ◽  
Marianne H. Rasmussen ◽  
Jens C. Koblitz
Keyword(s):  
Beam Width ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Recording Equipment ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Beluga Whales ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Scanning Behavior ◽  
Hydrophone Array ◽  
Free Ranging

Echolocation signals of wild beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) were recorded in 2013 using a vertical, linear 16-hydrophone array at two locations in the pack ice of Baffin Bay, West Greenland. Individual whales were localized for 4:42 minutes of 1:04 hours of recordings. Clicks centered on the recording equipment (i.e. on-axis clicks) were isolated to calculate sonar parameters. We report the first sonar beam estimate of in situ recordings of wild belugas with an average -3 dB asymmetrical vertical beam width of 5.4°, showing a wider ventral beam. This narrow beam width is consistent with estimates from captive belugas; however, our results indicate that beluga sonar beams may not be symmetrical and may differ in wild and captive contexts. The mean apparent source level for on-axis clicks was 212 dB pp re 1 μPa and whales were shown to vertically scan the array from 120 meters distance. Our findings support the hypothesis that highly directional sonar beams and high source levels are an evolutionary adaptation for Arctic odontocetes to reduce unwanted surface echoes from sea ice (i.e., acoustic clutter) and effectively navigate through leads in the pack ice (e.g., find breathing holes). These results provide the first baseline beluga sonar metrics from free-ranging animals using a hydrophone array and are important for acoustic programs throughout the Arctic, particularly for acoustic classification between belugas and narwhals (Monodon monoceros).

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