5 November
2009 - Bowhead Whales gather in large numbers
in Niginganiq (Isabella Bay) on the east
coast of Baffin Island in Canada. Photo:
Rasmus Due Nielsen
For the first time,
the respective distributions of seabirds,
whales and their food during their autumn
migration in the Baffin Bay and the Davis
Strait have been mapped simultaneously.
This has been possible due to close collaboration
between scientists from the National Environmental
Research Institute (NERI), Aarhus University
in Denmark and the Greenland Institute for
Natural Resources (GINR), who undertook
this comprehensive survey in September at
sea and from the air. The Canadian Wildlife
Service is also a partner in the study.
With the combined effort,
the distribution of seabirds and whales
could be studied on a larger scale, thus
documenting the present-day situation. The
results will contribute to a Strategic Environmental
Impact Assessment in relation to oil exploration
in this area. Funding for the various research
activities has been provided by oil companies
who have been granted oil exploration licenses.
The Bureau for Minerals and Petrol (BMP)
in Nuuk administers the funds.
A Twin Otter aircraft
from Greenland Air, equipped with camera
and computer equipment, flew with four observers
along selected east-west transects (straight
lines) between Greenland and Nunavut (Canada),
from Sisimiut in the south to the Nuussuaq
peninsular in the north. The longest transects
were 650 km, made possible by the Canadian
authorities granting permission to land
at Clyde River and Qikiqarjuaq.
Rikke Guldborg Hansen
operating the advanced computer system in
the aircraft. Photo: Lars Maltha Rasmussen/GINR
Good sightings
Biologist Rikke Guldborg Hansen, GINR, was
enthusiastic about the sightings they made
during the air surveys.
“Even though the weather
was rather changeable, we have been lucky
to have good conditions for most of the
time. We have seen Pilot Whales in the open
part of Baffin Bay, where they have not
been observed before. We also observed a
large group of Narwhals, approx. 350-500
animals, close to the Canadian coast.”
The Bowhead Whale is
another important species, which at this
time of the year is found in Isabella Bay
in Canada, the first reserve for Bowhead
Whales globally.
“We observed at least
50 Bowhead Whales in just 20 minutes of
flying around in the bay”, said Rikke Guldborg
Hansen.
Collection of zooplankton
samples from various water depths with a
multi-net. Photo: David Boertmann/NERI
Fruitful marine survey
Simultaneously with the air surveys, scientists
from NERI made seabird observations and
undertook marine biological studies in the
same area from the Icelandic research vessel
Bjarni Sæmundsson.
Cruise leader Doris
Schiedek, NERI, was highly satisfied with
the results obtained.
“We were able to observe
seabirds, such as Thick-billed Murre or
Little Auk, and at the same time study the
distribution of zooplankton and young fish,
such as Arctic Cod, which are important
food items for the seabirds and marine mammals.
All this data will give us an improved understanding
of the interactions between migration patterns
of important seabirds and their food sources.”
Research scientist Lars
Maltha Rasmussen, GINR, adds: “During the
air surveys we could identify some areas
with large numbers of Thick-billed Murres
and Little Auks”.
“When the Thick-billed
Murres leave their breeding grounds at the
end of August, together with their young,
which cannot yet fly, they perform what
is known as a ‘swimming migration’ We also
have data from the swimming migration from
a number of individual Murres that have
been electronically tagged and tracked by
satellite.
