Observations of Greenland whales (<i>Balaena mysticetus</i>), Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa

Korte, J. de; Belikov, Stanislav

doi:10.1017/s0032247400021367

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Various authors have commented on the effective extinction of the Spitsbergen bowhead stock, as evidenced by the paucity of modern sightings from surveys and whaling operations (Reeves 1980, Jonsgård 1982, McQuaid 1986, Wiig 1991, Christensen et al . 1992, De Korte and Belikov 1994, Wiig et al 2007). The few animals that are occasionally observed in the region presumably constitute either a remnant and functionally extinct subpopulation, or perhaps stragglers from one of the larger subpopulations in the western North Atlantic (Jonsgård 1982).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining spatial and temporal scales for management: lessons from whaling

Clapham¹,

Aguilar²,

Hatch³

2007

Marine Mammal Science

118

125

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Selection of the appropriate management unit is critical to the conservation of animal populations. Defining such units depends upon knowledge of population structure and upon the timescale being considered. Here, we examine the trajectory of eleven subpopulations of five species of baleen whales to investigate temporal and spatial scales in management. These subpopulations were all extirpated by commercial whaling, and no recovery or repopulation has occurred since. In these cases, time elapsed since commercial extinction ranges from four decades to almost four centuries. We propose that these subpopulations did not recover either because cultural memory of the habitat has been lost, because widespread whaling among adjacent stocks eliminated these as sources for repopulation, and/or because segregation following exploitation produced the abandonment of certain areas. Spatial scales associated with the extirpated subpopulations are frcequently smaller than those typically employed in management. Overall, the evidence indicates that: (1) the time frame for management should be at most decadal in scope (i.e., <100 yr) and based on both genetic and nongenetic evidence of population substructure, and (2) at least some stocks should be defined on a smaller spatial scale than they currently are.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining spatial and temporal scales for management: lessons from whaling

Clapham¹,

Aguilar²,

Hatch³

2007

Marine Mammal Science

118

125

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Whether the few bowhead whales that are observed in the area between northeast Greenland and Franz Josef Land today (Reeves 1980; Jonsgård 1981, 1982; Wiig 1991; de Korte & Belikov 1994; Gilg & Born 2005; Wigg et al , in press) are descendents of the original Spitsbergen stock, or if they are immigrants from east or from west is currently not known. However, according to the available data, it is unlikely that this question can be answered on the basis of mtDNA CR sequences.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2004) and recent provisional estimates from the Canadian Arctic indicate that the numbers there are close to 5000 (COSEWIC 2005). In the northeast Atlantic, sporadic but persistent observations have been made within the assumed distribution range of the Spitsbergen stock (Reeves 1980; Jonsgård 1981, 1982; Wiig 1991; de Korte & Belikov 1994; Gilg & Born 2005). The commercial hunt of bowhead whales around Svalbard started in the early 17th century.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variation in Holocene bowhead whales from Svalbard

et al. 2007

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Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) are distributed in the Arctic in five putative stocks. All stocks have been heavily depleted due to centuries of exploitation. In the present study, nucleotide sequence variation of the mitochondrial control region was determined from bone remains of 99 bowhead whales. The bones, 14C dated from recent to more than 50,000 bp, were collected on Svalbard (Spitsbergen) and are expected to relate to ancestors of the today nearly extinct Spitsbergen stock. Fifty-eight haplotypes were found, a few being frequent but many only found in one individual. The most abundant haplotypes of the Spitsbergen stock are the same as those most abundant in the extant Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort (BCB) Seas stock of bowhead whales. Although F(ST) indicates a slight but statistically significant genetic differentiation between the Spitsbergen and the BCB stocks this was not considered informative due to the very high levels of genetic diversity of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in both bowhead whale stocks. Other measures such as K(ST) also indicated very low genetic differentiation between the two populations. Nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity showed only minor differences between the Spitsbergen and BCB stocks. The data suggest that the historic Spitsbergen stock--before the severe bottleneck caused by whaling--did not have substantially more genetic variation than the extant BCB stock. The similar haplotypes of the Holocene Svalbard samples and the current BCB stock indicate significant migration between these two stocks and question the current designation of five distinct stocks of bowhead whales in the Arctic.

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“…Records of bowhead whales have been sporadic but persistent for some time in the Svalbard area (Reeves 1980) and in the eastern part of the Barents Sea, particularly in the Franz Josef Land area (Wiig 1991, Moore and Reeves 1993, de Korte and Belikov 1994). In addition, reports of bowhead sightings have been received annually in the last few years from Spitsbergen fjords during summer (Norwegian Polar Institute, unpublished data).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%