No abstract

Fatty acid composition of blubber was determined at four body sites of 19 male harbour porpoises. A total of 65 fatty acids were quantified in each sample. The array of fatty acids contained in harbour porpoise blubber was similar to those found in other marine mammals. While chemical composition of total blubber was uniform over the body, with the exception of the caudal peduncle, vertical stratification was evident between the deep (inner) and superficial (outer) blubber layers. Fatty acids with chain lengths shorter than 18 carbons were present in significantly greater amounts in the outer blubber layer, while the longer-chain unsaturated fatty acids were more prevalent in the inner layer. This distribution suggests that the inner blubber layer is more active metabolically than the outer layer in terms of lipid deposition and mobilization. The degree of stratification between the two layers appears to increase with age, indicating a predictable turnover in the blubber layer of male porpoises. Harbour porpoise blubber contained high levels (2-27%) of isovaleric acid in the outer blubber layer, and these levels were positively correlated with age.

Temperature, salinity, density of Zooplankton patches, and the abundance of right whales (Eubalaena glacialis glacialis) were measured concurrently during summer and autumn of 1983 and 1984 over the Grand Manan Basin, outer Bay of Fundy. Right whales appeared to exploit patches of copepods at densities greater than about 820/m3 (170 mg m−3). Patches were composed primarily of stage V Calanus finmarchicus at depths ≥ 100 m during daylight hours. Patch densities were similar in 1983 and 1984. Potential right whale feeding areas increased in extent from late July to October, with at least two peaks of copepod biomass occurring in 1984. Right whales appear to exploit euphausiid patches in the bay only incidentally; the whales departed in 1984 when euphausiid biomass was at a maximum. The topography of the basin, prevailing summer currents, and orientation of transition zones from mixed to stratified water all combine to facilitate accumulation of copepods from the Scotian Shelf and Gulf of Maine in the central lower Bay of Fundy. This area provides an important feeding ground for this stenophagous whale species.

The diving behaviour of seven free-ranging harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) was examined using time–depth recorders. In total, 8167 individual dives were recorded over 254 h. The longest period of data collection from an individual was 106.1 h. Mean dive depths and durations ranged from 14 ± 16 to 41 ± 32 m, and from 44 ± 37 to 103 ± 67 s, respectively. The maximum recorded dive depth and duration was 226 m and 321 s. This performance may not represent the maximum capacity of harbour porpoises but rather the maximum depth of the study area. Individual dives had similar rates of descent and ascent, which ranged from 1.1 ± 0.6 to 2.3 ± 1.4 m/s, and from 0.9 ± 0.6 to 2.1 ± 1.4 m/s, respectively. Two porpoises with monitoring periods >2 days demonstrated a diel pattern in their diving, making fewer, but deeper dives at night. Comparison of the diving behaviour of harbour porpoises with data on the depth of 140 porpoises entanglements in groundfish gill nets in the Bay of Fundy showed these seven porpoises made between 22 and 70% of dives to depths (range 20–130 m) where the majority of entanglements were reported.

Characteristics of right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) habitat in the lower Bay of Fundy were identified by quantifying physical and biological habitat variables and comparing them to the distribution of whales during the summer and autumn of 1989. Right whales were generally distributed over the Grand Manan Basin, where the bottom topography is relatively flat and the water column was stratified. Calanus finmarchicus, the principal prey species of right whales, was the predominant copepod taken in Zooplankton hauls, and the depth-averaged density (mean 1139/m3) was significantly greater where right whales were present. Fin whales were distributed mainly in shallower areas with high topographic variation that were likely well mixed or contained frontal interfaces between mixed and stratified waters. Herring (Clupea harengus) and euphausiids, both known prey of fin whales, were relatively abundant on echosounder traces in areas where fin whales were present. The habitats of both whale species were primarily characterized by high densities of principal prey species and the physical conditions that facilitate the accumulation of these prey.