Journal
PROGRESS IN OCEANOGRAPHY
Volume 136, Issue -, Pages 175-200Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.pocean.2015.05.012
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) [M10PG00050]
- North Pacific Research Board [BSIERP-B64]
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- ConocoPhillips
- Shell
- Statoil USA
- BOEM [M11PG00033]
- NOAA [M11PG00033]
- U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program [M11PG00034]
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) [M11PG00034]
- Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
- Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL)
- U.S. Department of Commerce
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The Chukchi and Beaufort seas are undergoing rapid climate change and increased human activity. Conservation efforts for upper trophic level predators such as seabirds and marine mammals require information on species' distributions and identification of important marine areas. Here we describe broad-scale distributions of seabirds and marine mammals. We examined spatial patterns of relative abundance of seabirds and marine mammals in the eastern Chukchi and western Beaufort seas during summer (15 June-31 August) and fall (1 September-20 November) from 2007 to 2012. We summarized 49,206 km of shipboard surveys for seabirds and 183,157 km of aerial surveys for marine mammals into a grid of 40-km x 40-km cells. We used Getis-Ord Gi* hotspot analysis to test for cells with higher relative abundance than expected when compared to all cells within the study area. We identified cells representing single species and taxonomic group hotspots, cells representing hotspots for multiple species, and cells representing hotspots for both seabirds and marine mammals. The locations of hotspots varied among species but often were located near underwater canyons or over continental shelf features and slopes. Hotspots for seabirds, walrus, and gray whales occurred primarily in the Chukchi Sea. Hotspots for bowhead whales and other pinnipeds (i.e., seals) occurred near Barrow Canyon and along the Beaufort Sea shelf and slope. Hotspots for belugas occurred in both the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. There were three hotspots shared by both seabirds and marine mammals in summer: off Wainwright in the eastern Chukchi Sea, south of Hanna Shoal, and at the mouth of Barrow Canyon. In fall, the only identified shared hotspot occurred at the mouth of Barrow Canyon. Shared hotspots are characterized by strong fronts caused by upwelling and currents, and these areas can have high densities of euphausiids in summer and fall. Due to the high relative abundance of animals and diversity of taxa, these sites are clearly important areas of congregation for seabirds and marine mammals that should be prioritized in the development of management and conservation plans. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available