Subarctic Cetaceans in the Southern Chukchi Sea Evidence of Recovery or Response to a Changing Ecosystem
Subarctic Cetaceans in the Southern Chukchi Sea Evidence of Recovery or Response to a Changing Ecosystem
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DOI：
10.5670/oceanog.2013.81
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发表时间：
2013-12-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Crance, Jessica
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Clarke, Janet;Stafford, Kathleen;Crance, Jessica
楚科奇海南部是世界海洋中最富饶的地区之一。在过去的十年中，该地区的海冰覆盖和白令海峡的流入发生了巨大变化，现在它正处于跨极地航运和目的地船舶交通的路径上，包括支持北极近海石油和天然气开发和旅游业的船舶，所有这些都预计会随着季节性海冰覆盖的减少而增加。对楚科奇海南部的鲸类动物进行的研究很少，关于亚北极物种（座头鲸Megaptera novaeangliae，长须鲸Balaenoptera physalus，小须鲸B. acutorostrata和虎鲸Orcinus orca）发生的大多数信息来自20世纪中后期商业捕鲸船的航海日志和驻扎在楚科奇半岛的观察员。在国际日期变更线（IDL）以东的美国水域，有关鲸类动物季节性活动的资料尤其稀少。为了解决这一信息缺口，我们收集了2009年至2012年夏季和初秋在楚科奇海南部亚北极鲸类的视觉观测和声学探测结果。8月和9月，座头鲸在IDL两岸都很常见。从7月到9月，长须鲸和小须鲸广泛分布在IDL以东，虎鲸偶尔出现，但是四个物种中分布最广泛的。我们的研究结果与历史记录的比较表明，在楚科奇海南部，亚北极鲸类的发生率可能正在增加。发生的增加可能仅仅是商业捕鲸后鲸鱼数量和每个物种的季节范围的恢复，或者它可能反映了对持续气候变化的反应。了解当前的种群特征、时空分布、栖息地偏好、相对丰度以及气候变化对这些物种的潜在影响，将需要在北极地区开展以鲸类为重点的研究。
The southern Chukchi Sea is one of the most productive areas in the world ocean. Over the past decade, there have been dramatic changes in this region in sea ice cover and in Bering Strait inflow, and it is now in the path of transpolar shipping and destinational ship traffic, including vessels supporting Arctic offshore oil and gas development and tourism, all of which are anticipated to increase with decreasing seasonal sea ice cover. Little research on cetaceans has been conducted in the southern Chukchi Sea, and most information on the occurrence of subarctic species (humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae, fin whale Balaenoptera physalus, minke whale B. acutorostrata, and killer whale Orcinus orca) comes from the ships' logs of commercial whalers in the mid to late twentieth century and from observers stationed along the Chukotka Peninsula. Information on cetacean seasonal occurrence east of the International Date Line (IDL) in US waters is particularly scarce. To address this information gap, we compiled visual sightings and acoustic detections of subarctic cetaceans in the southern Chukchi Sea during summer and early autumn from 2009 to 2012. Humpback whales were common on both sides of the IDL in August and September. Fin and minke whales were widely distributed east of the IDL from July to September, and killer whales were seen sporadically but were the most widely dispersed of the four species. Comparisons of our results with historical records indicate that the incidence of subarctic cetaceans may be increasing in the southern Chukchi Sea. An increase in occurrence may simply be a post-commercial whaling recovery of whale numbers and seasonal range by each species, or it may reflect responses to ongoing climate change. Understanding current stock identity, spatial and temporal distribution, habitat preference, relative abundance, and potential impacts of climate change on these species will require cetacean-focused research in this region of the Arctic.