Feature Interview: What acoustics can tell us about whales in the Arctic
A new study suggests that certain species of sub-Arctic whales are increasingly making their way through the Bering Strait towards Arctic waters, raising questions about what may be causing these species to expand their territory.
Researchers used underwater microphones to track the whales as they made their way through the strait towards the Chukchi Sea.
Besides Arctic beluga and bowhead whales, the microphones picked up large numbers of sub-Arctic killer whales and humpback whales swimming to the Arctic.
Here’s some of what the researchers heard:
Humpback whales in the Bering Strait:
Killer Whales in the Bering Strait
Those involved in the U.S. – Russia study say their findings raise interesting questions about what is actually driving the sub-Arctic whales into the Arctic and if they could one day become competition for Arctic bowhead and beluga whales.
To find out more, Eye on the Arctic’s Eilís Quinn spoke with researcher Kate Stafford, an oceanographer with the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory.
Related Links:
Reports of more killer whales in Nunavut, Canada waters, CBC News
Endangered North Pacific whales may receive stricter U.S. protection
