Correlation of a strong Alaska Coastal Current with the presence of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas near Barrow, Alaska
Correlation of a strong Alaska Coastal Current with the presence of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas near Barrow, Alaska
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阿拉斯加沿岸强烈洋流与阿拉斯加巴罗附近白鲸 Delphinapterus leucas 存在的相关性
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发表时间：
2013
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
J. Clarke
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
K. Stafford;S. Okkonen;J. Clarke
海洋学特征和海洋中的物理过程可以创造出猎物和捕食者可能聚集的区域。白鲸是北极地区数量最多的鲸类动物。在阿拉斯加波弗特海，它们在夏秋两季更喜欢大陆斜坡的栖息地，大概是因为这样的地方提供了更多的觅食机会。通过对白鲸叫声的被动声学探测、洋流速度测量、历史风记录和29年的白鲸航空观测，探讨了当阿拉斯加海岸流（ACC）发育良好并向东-东北方向流动时，巴罗峡谷和波弗特海西部斜坡上白鲸觅食成功率提高的假设，而当阿拉斯加海岸流及其大陆架断裂延伸方向逆转时，白鲸觅食成功率降低的假设。空中观测到的白鲸，平均观察到的白鲸群体大小，以及鲸鱼发声的时间，在ACC发育良好且流向东北偏东的情况下更为常见。当ACC水流强劲时，它与北极盆地水域被一个明确的锋区分开，这促进了猎物物种的聚集。我们推测，每组看到的动物数量和记录的发声时间的增加可能表明白鲸的觅食机会增加。
Oceanographic features and physical processes in the ocean can create regions where prey, and therefore predators, may accumulate. Beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas are the most numerous cetacean in the Arctic. In the Alaskan Beaufort Sea, they prefer continental slope habitat in summer and autumn, presumably because such areas provide enhanced foraging opportunities. Passive acoustic detections of beluga whale calls, current velocity measurements, historical wind records, and 29 yr of beluga whale observations from aerial surveys were used to explore the hypothesis that the foraging success of beluga whales in Barrow Canyon and along the western Beaufort Sea slope is enhanced when the Alaska Coastal Current (ACC) is well- developed and flows east-northeastward and is diminished when the flow of the ACC and its shelf break extension are reversed. Aerial sightings of beluga whales, average observed beluga whale group size, and hours with whale vocalizations were more common when the ACC was well- developed and flowed east-northeastward. When the ACC flow is strong, it is separated from Arctic basin waters by a well-defined front that promotes aggregation of prey species. We specu- late that the greater numbers of animals per group sighted and hours with recorded vocalizations may be indicative of enhanced foraging opportunities for beluga whales.