Marine mammal hotspots in the Greenland and Barents Seas

Charmain D Hamilton ,Kristin L Laidre ,Tore Haug ,Signe Sveegaard ,Christian Lydersen ,Nils Øien ,Aqqalu Rosing‐Asvid ,Martin Biuw ,Mads Peter Heide‐Jørgensen ,О В Шпак ,Lisa E Kettemer ,Lars P Folkow ,Д М Глазов ,Erling S Nordøy ,Øystein Wiig ,Andrei N Boltunov ,Runé Dietz ,Erik W Born ,Jon Aars ,Varvara Semenova ,Audun H Rikardsen ,Fernando Ugarte ,Kit M Kovacs

doi:10.3354/meps13584

Abstract

Environmental change and increasing levels of human activity are threats to marine mammals in the Arctic. Identifying marine mammal hotspots and areas of high species richness are essential to help guide management and conservation efforts. Herein, space use based on biotelemetric tracking devices deployed on 13 species (ringed seal Pusa hispida, bearded seal Erignathus barbatus, harbour seal Phoca vitulina, walrus Odobenus rosmarus, harp seal Pagophilus groenlandicus, hooded seal Cystophora cristata, polar bear Ursus maritimus, bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus, narwhal Monodon monoceros, white whale Delphinapterus leucas, blue whale Balaenoptera musculus, fin whale Balaenoptera physalus and humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae; total = 585 individuals) in the Greenland and northern Barents Seas between 2005 and 2018 is reported. Getis-Ord Gi* hotspots were calculated for each species as well as all species combined, and areas of high species richness were identified for summer/autumn (Jun-Dec), winter/spring (Jan-May) and the entire year. The marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the Greenland Sea and northern Barents Sea, the waters surrounding the Svalbard Archipelago and a few Northeast Greenland coastal sites were identified as key marine mammal hotspots and areas of high species richness in this region. Individual hotspots identified areas important for most of the tagged animals, such as common resting, nursing, moulting and foraging areas. Location hotspots identified areas heavily used by segments of the tagged populations, including denning areas for polar bears and foraging areas. The hotspots identified herein are also important habitats for seabirds and fishes, and thus conservation and management measures targeting these regions would benefit multiple groups of Arctic animals.

Highlights

The climate is changing faster in the Arctic than in any other area on Earth, with air temperatures increasing at a rate 2−3 times the global average and sea-ice extent declining at an alarming rate (IPCC 2018, Meredith et al 2019)
Drift ice areas within the marginal ice zone (MIZ) are used for breeding, moulting and resting by harp seals Pagophilus groenlandicus and hooded seals Cystophora cristata (Folkow et al 2004, Vacquié-Garcia et al 2017a)
Previous analyses of the polar bear Ursus maritimus data show that many location hotspots in Northeast Greenland are denning sites (Laidre et al 2015b)

Summary

Introduction

The climate is changing faster in the Arctic than in any other area on Earth, with air temperatures increasing at a rate 2−3 times the global average and sea-ice extent declining at an alarming rate (IPCC 2018, Meredith et al 2019). Arctic endemic marine mammals are all strongly ice-affiliated and are seriously threatened by these changes (see Laidre et al 2008, Kovacs et al 2011, Meredith et al 2019 for details). There is an acute need to identify important areas for marine mammals to allow for proper management and conservation of these species in the context of these multiple stressors (e.g. Kovacs et al 2011, Reeves et al 2014, Yurkowski et al 2019)

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Discussion

Conclusion