Dear marmam community,
our paper on opportunistic observations of the Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) in the western Okhotsk Sea (Russia) was published in Russian Journal of Marine Biology.
The English version of the paper is available under the following link:
Shpak, O.V. &
Paramonov, A.Y. 2018. The Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus
Linnaeus, 1758, in the Western Sea of Okhotsk (2009–2016): Distribution
Pattern, Behavior, and Threats. Russ J Mar Biol 44(3): 210-218. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074018030082
Abstract:
The data on sightings of the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus
Linnaeus, 1758) in the western Sea of Okhotsk collected during eight
field seasons, as well as information obtained from interviews with
local residents in the study region, are presented. The major areas of
concentration of the bowhead whale population in the ice-free period are
determined; the whale behavior in bays is described. Data on sea
surface temperature, salinity, and depth measurements at the sites of
bowhead whale sightings are provided. The possible causes of whale
concentrations close to the shoreline and in apical parts of mainland
shallow-water bays, as well as the potential threats to the population
associated, inter alia, with this pattern of distribution, are
discussed.
If you need a pdf, please, send a request to olga_shpak@yahoo.com
Regards,
Olga Shpak,
A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of Russian Academy of Sciences