Panorama
 
 
 
 
 

SEABIRDS AND MARINE MAMMAL SURVEYS IN THE DAVIS STRAIT (WEST GREENLAND)


Environmental Panorama
International
November of 2009


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.

 
 

Source: Danish Ministry of the Environment
Press consultantship
All rights reserved

 
 
 
 

 

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