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Comparing marine mammal acoustic habitats in Atlantic and Pacific sectors of the High Arctic: year-long records from Fram Strait and the Chukchi Plateau

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Abstract

During the International Polar Year (IPY), acoustic recorders were deployed on oceanographic moorings in Fram Strait and on the Chukchi Plateau, representing the first coordinated year-round sampling of underwater acoustic habitats at two sites in the High Arctic. Examination of species-specific marine mammal calls recorded from autumn 2008–2009 revealed distinctly different acoustic habitats at each site. Overall, the Fram Strait site was acoustically complex compared with the Chukchi Plateau site. In Fram Strait, calls from bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) and a variety of toothed whales (odontocetes) were recorded year-round, as were airgun pulses from seismic surveys. In addition, calls from blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) and fin whales (B. physalus) were recorded from June to October and August to March, respectively. Conversely, at the Chukchi Plateau site, beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) and bowhead whale calls were recorded primarily from May to August, with airgun signals detected only in September–October. Ribbon seal (Phoca fasciata) calls were detected in October–November, with no marine mammals calls at all recorded from December to February. Of note, ice-adapted bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) were recorded at both sites, primarily in spring and summer, corresponding with the mating season for that species. Differences in acoustic habitats between the two sites were related to contrasts in sea ice cover, temperature, patterns of ocean circulation and contributions from anthropogenic noise sources. These data provide a provisional baseline for the comparison of underwater acoustic habitats between Pacific and Atlantic sectors of the High Arctic.

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Notes

  1. Use of trade names does not imply endorsement.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Canadian Coast Guard, the Norwegian Polar Institute and all the scientists, technical staff and crews aboard the Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the R/V Lance for their assistance in recorder deployment and recovery. We also thank the NOAA/Fisheries (B. Southall) and the NOAA/OAR (J. Calder) line offices for funding, as well as Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Norwegian Polar Institute for at-sea capability, in-kind support and encouragement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Science and Technology, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA

    Sue E. Moore

  2. Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, 1013 NE 40th St., Seattle, WA, 98105, USA

    Kathleen M. Stafford

  3. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, PO Box 6000, Sidney, BC, V8L 4B2, Canada

    Humfrey Melling

  4. Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA

    Catherine Berchok

  5. National Center for Biosystematics, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, POB 1172, 0318, Blindern, Oslo, Norway

    Øystein Wiig

  6. Norwegian Polar Institute, 9296, Tromsø, Norway

    Kit M. Kovacs & Christian Lydersen

  7. ERDC-Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, 72 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA

    Jackie Richter-Menge

Authors
  1. Sue E. Moore
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  2. Kathleen M. Stafford
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  3. Humfrey Melling
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  4. Catherine Berchok
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  5. Øystein Wiig
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  6. Kit M. Kovacs
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  7. Christian Lydersen
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  8. Jackie Richter-Menge
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Correspondence to Sue E. Moore.

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Moore, S.E., Stafford, K.M., Melling, H. et al. Comparing marine mammal acoustic habitats in Atlantic and Pacific sectors of the High Arctic: year-long records from Fram Strait and the Chukchi Plateau. Polar Biol 35, 475–480 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1086-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-1086-y

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