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Northeasternmost record of a North Pacific fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Alaskan Chukchi Sea

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Abstract

Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the North Pacific consistently range as far north as the Bering Sea. While occasional sightings of fin whales occur north of the Bering Strait, they are rarely documented north of 67°N. However, a recent increase in passive acoustic monitoring has shown that fin whales are more prevalent in the Chukchi Sea than previously thought. During a 2012 field survey in the Alaskan Chukchi Sea, fin whale calls were detected on a DiFAR sonobuoy deployed at 71.575°N, 157.823°W, 50 km off Barrow near the mouth of Barrow Canyon. On August 27, 2012, approximately 30 fin whale downsweep calls were detected over an hour and a half, at bearings of approximately 270–290° from the sonobuoy. Since only one sonobuoy was deployed, in situ localization of the calls was not possible. Post hoc range estimates using a combination of modal dispersion techniques, nonlinear time-domain warping, and geoacoustic inversion resulted in a source range estimate of less than 5 km. This location is approximately 280 and 365 km northeast of the previous closest acoustic detection and confirmed visual sighting of a fin whale, respectively. These results represent the farthest northeast record of fin whale calls in the Alaskan Arctic and illustrate the importance of continued passive acoustic monitoring in a rapidly changing environment.

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Notes

  1. Reference to trade names does not imply endorsement by the National Marine Fisheries Service or NOAA.

  2. C. Nachman, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS/NOAA, 1315 East–West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Heather Crowley (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) for her continued project support. Thanks also to Theresa Yost (Naval Operational Logistics Support Center), Jeffrey Leonhard, Todd Mequet, and Edward Rainey (Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division), and Robin Fitch (I&E Director Marine Science, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy) for their continued support and for providing sonobuoys, as well as the captain and crew of the R/V Aquila. Financial support was provided by BOEM (IA# M09PG00016). Special thanks to Chuck Monnett for his assistance during the initial stages of the project. The authors also thank Sally Mizroch, Janet Clarke, Alex Zerbini, and Phil Clapham as well as several anonymous reviewers for carefully reviewing the manuscript, and David Strausz and Phyllis Stabeno (NOAA/PMEL) for providing the sound speed profile. The authors thank Lt Anthony Kenne and the captain and crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy for providing sighting information. The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AFSC/NMFS/NOAA, National Marine Mammal Laboratory, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA

    Jessica L. Crance & Catherine L. Berchok

  2. ENSTA Bretagne, Lab-STICC (UMR CNRS 6285), Université Européenne de Bretagne, 2 Rue François Verny, 29806, Brest Cedex 09, France

    Julien Bonnel

  3. Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Aaron M. Thode

Authors
  1. Jessica L. Crance
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  2. Catherine L. Berchok
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  3. Julien Bonnel
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  4. Aaron M. Thode
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Correspondence to Jessica L. Crance.

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Crance, J.L., Berchok, C.L., Bonnel, J. et al. Northeasternmost record of a North Pacific fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Alaskan Chukchi Sea. Polar Biol 38, 1767–1773 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1719-7

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