Hooded Seal (Cystophora cristata) Pup Production in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 2546-2550 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. O. Hammill ◽  
G. B. Stenson ◽  
R. A. Myers

Systematic visual aerial surveys were flown in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence during March 1990 and 1991 to estimate hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) pup production. In 1990, the main whelping patch, occupying an area of 264 km2, was located near Cape Breton Island. One hundred and five pups were counted on 17 transects, resulting in a mean density of 1.74 pups∙kim−2 and an estimated pup production of 1638 (SE = 466). In 1991, a large whelping patch was located to the west of the Magdalen Islands, a second off the coast of Prince Edward Island, and a small patch was later found south of the Magdalen Islands. The two major patches were surveyed, resulting in a pup production estimate of 1564 (SE = 101). During the 1991 surveys, an estimated 71–93% of the pups were on the ice. Correcting for the distribution of births results in a minimum 1991 pup production estimate of 2006 (SE = 190) for the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

2000 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Haug ◽  
Kjell T Nilssen ◽  
Lotta Lindblom

Data were collected from harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) and hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) pups belonging to the Greenland Sea (or "West Ice") stocks in 1995-1997. Pups of both species were observed to feed independently shortly after weaning, and their first food was almost exclusively crustaceans. Parathemisto sp., particularly P. libellula, dominated the diet of both the harp and the hooded seal pups, but the diet also contained sympagic amphipods of the genus Gammarus. Krill (Thysanoessa sp.) was of minor importance as food for seal pups in 1995, but occurred more frequentlyin the diet of both species in 1996 and 1997. Considerable niche overlap may suggest some interspecific competition between harp and hooded seal pups in the West Ice.


2014 ◽  
Vol 127 (4) ◽  
pp. 332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M. Catling ◽  
Donald F. McAlpine ◽  
Christopher I. G. Adam ◽  
Gilles Belliveau ◽  
Denis Doucet ◽  
...  

Chortophaga viridifasciata, Forficula auricularia, Melanoplus stonei, Scudderia furcata furcata, Scudderia pistillata, and Trimerotropis verruculata from Prince Edward Island and Doru taeniatum, Melanoplus punctulatus, Orchelimum gladiator, and Spharagemon bolli from New Brunswick are new provincial records. Other records of interest include the endemic Melanoplus madeleineae from Île d’Entrée in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec; Trimerotropis verruculata from the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec; and Chortophaga viridifasciata, Stethophyma lineatum, and Tetrix subulata, new for Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The ranges of Conocephalus brevipennis, Tetrix arenosa angusta, Tetrix ornata, and Tetrix subulata are significantly extended in New Brunswick. A previously unpublished record from 2003 of Roeseliana roeselii (Metrioptera roeselii) is the earliest report of this European introduction to the Maritimes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 1332-1341 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.O. Hammill ◽  
G.B. Stenson ◽  
D.P. Swain ◽  
H.P. Benoît

High natural mortality is preventing the recovery of collapsed stocks of Atlantic cod and white hake in the southern Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada. Predation by grey seals has been proposed as an important cause of this high mortality. We determined the contribution of cod and hake to the diet of grey seals collected along the west coast of Cape Breton Island and in the Cabot Strait, an area where overwintering cod aggregate. Along the coast of Cape Breton Island, the contribution of hake and cod to the diet was 30 and 17%, respectively, by weight using stomach contents and 13 and 9%, respectively, based on intestine contents. In the Cabot Strait, when overwintering aggregations of cod were present, cod accounted for 68% (range 57–80%) of the male diet from stomachs, and 46% (range: 31–64%) of the diet determined from intestines. Among females, cod represented 14% (range: 0–34%) and 9% (range: 3–54%) of the diet from stomachs and intestines, respectively. In Cabot Strait, white hake accounted for up to 17% of the diet by weight from stomachs, and up to 6% of the diet determined from intestines. The mean length of cod consumed by seals was 28 cm (SD = 8.6) along the coast of Cape Breton Island, and 39 cm (SD = 5.7) in Cabot Strait. The mean length of hake consumed by seals was 29 cm (SD = 7.0) along the coast of Cape Breton Island, and 35 cm (SD = 5.6) in Cabot Strait. Cod and hake are more important to the diet of males than that of females. The contribution of cod to the diet of grey seals foraging in the cod overwintering area is much greater than has been reported elsewhere.


2008 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher G. Majka ◽  
Yves Bousquet ◽  
Christine Noronha ◽  
Mary E. Smith

AbstractFourteen species of Carabidae are added to Prince Edward Island’s (P.E.I.) faunal list, bringing the known fauna to 167 species. Bembidion nitidum (Kirby) and Bembidion obtusum Audinet-Serville are newly recorded for the Maritime Provinces. Six species are removed from P.E.I.’s faunal list. The history of collecting of Carabidae on P.E.I. is briefly recounted. Despite differences in land area and distance from the mainland between P.E.I., Cape Breton Island, and insular Newfoundland, their carabid faunas exhibit many similarities in size and composition. The native carabid fauna of P.E.I. comprises 49% of the species in the combined Maritime Provinces fauna, perhaps reflecting an island-related diminution of species diversity. The proportion of flightless species on P.E.I. (4.9%) is less than that in the Maritime Provinces as a whole (7.1%), an apparent indication that the Northumberland Strait has been a barrier to colonization. Twenty-seven introduced species are found on P.E.I., 26 of which can be classified as synanthropic and may have originated in dry-ballast quarries in southwestern England. Although the earliest dates of detection of many introduced species on P.E.I. are substantially later than elsewhere in the Maritimes, this reflects the paucity of early collecting. Land-management practices on P.E.I. (large-scale and early forest clearances, intensive agriculture, and the extensive use of biocides) may have had an impact on P.E.I.’s carabid fauna.


2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 1551-1565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori A Cook ◽  
Sonya A Dehler ◽  
Sandra M Barr

A prominent positive magnetic anomaly spans the 100 km distance between Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton Island in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The anomaly occurs in an area of complex structure where Appalachian terrane boundaries are poorly resolved because of thick late Paleozoic sedimentary cover. Analysis of the magnetic anomaly led to the interpretation that it is produced by four separate, approximately circular, source bodies aligned along the northwesterly trend of the anomaly. Seismic data, physical property measurements, and magnetic and gravity anomalies were used to further investigate the anomaly sources through forward modeling techniques. The four source bodies have densities and magnetic susceptibilities compatible with dioritic to granitic compositions. Modeling also suggests that basement to the north of the plutons has higher density and susceptibility than basement to the south, and hence the source bodies are interpreted as plutons emplaced along the boundary between Ganderian composite terranes to the north and the Ganderian Brookville – Bras d’Or terrane to the south. This interpretation suggests that the Ganderia–Avalonia boundary is located farther south, and shows the need for re-evaluation of the location and role of the Canso fault in offsetting terranes between Cape Breton Island and southern New Brunswick.


2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Jetté ◽  
Robert J. Mott

ABSTRACT Environmental conditions (vegetation and climate) of Maritime Canada are reconstructed as a regional contribution to a national synthesis on the paleoenvironment of Canada 6000 yr BP. Ten new sites, including three complete sequences and seven short sequences bracketing the 6 ka period, are added to the existing pollen dataset for this region. The vegetation prevalent 6000 yr BP in New Brunswick was a mixed coniferous-deciduous forest with pine, mostly white pine (Pinus strobus) in the northwest, and a mixed coniferous-deciduous forest with hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) in the south and southeast. In the northwest, fir (Abies) replaced pine at high elevations and a boreal forest grew on the New Brunswick Highlands. The dominant vegetation at 6000 yr BP in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia was a mixed coniferous-deciduous forest with hemlock dominating. Cape Breton Island was covered by a mixed coniferous-deciduous forest with pine and/or fir, except for the southern part of the Island where hemlock was probably present. Analysis of the fossil sites indicate that a warm-dry period influenced the composition of the vegetation 6000 yr BP.


2007 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher G. Majka ◽  
Robert S. Anderson ◽  
David B. McCorquodale

AbstractSeventy-nine species of weevils are newly reported in Nova Scotia and 66 species are newly reported on Prince Edward Island, increasing the known provincial weevil faunas to 244 and 92 species, respectively. Thirty-six species are recorded for the first time in the Maritime Provinces; of these, Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus (Marsham), Listronotus dietzi O'Brien, Corthylus columbianus Hopkins, and Orchidophilus aterrimus (Waterhouse) are recorded for the first time in Canada. Orchidophilus aterrimus has been collected only in exotic domesticated orchids and is not established in the wild. Fourteen species previously recorded on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, are reported from the provincial mainland. Four species — Curculio sulcatulus (Casey), Ceutorhynchus squamatus LeConte, Tachyerges niger (Horn), and Ips calligraphus (Germar) — are removed from the faunal list of Nova Scotia, and three species — Temnocerus cyanellus (LeConte), Curculio nasicus (Say), and Cryphalus ruficollis ruficollis Hopkins — are removed from the faunal list of Prince Edward Island. The combined known weevil fauna of the Maritime Provinces now totals 290 species. The adequacy of collection effort is discussed and in Nova Scotia, where collection effort has been greatest, distribution patterns of selected groups of species are examined. Island faunas are discussed with respect to those of Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton Island. Regional biogeographic patterns of species are also discussed, including possible disjunct populations in Nova Scotia and species that may not have crossed the isthmus of Chignecto to colonize Nova Scotia. Attention is drawn to the long history of introduced species in the region and to ongoing introductions through an examination of the earliest records for the 60 introduced species found in the region.


Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1654 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER G. MAJKA

The Ciidae of the Maritime Provinces of Canada are surveyed. Fifteen species are now known to occur in the region, thirteen in Nova Scotia, six in New Brunswick, and two on Prince Edward Island. Ten new provincial records  are reported. Seven species including Ceracis sallei Mellié, Ceracis thoracicornis (Ziegler), Cis creberrimus Mellié, Cis pistoria Casey, Cis subtilis Mellié, Malacocis brevicollis (Casey), and Orthocis punctatus (Mellié) are newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces as a whole. Cis americanus Mannerheim and Cis levettei (Casey) are newly recorded on Prince Edward Island, the first records of this family from the province.Collecting effort on Cape Breton Island, Prince Edward Island, and in New Brunswick has apparently been insufficient to fully document the ciid fauna of these areas. Some local and regional distribution patterns of ciids in the mainland of Nova Scotia and in the Maritime Provinces are suggested from the present data, but further collecting is required to confirm these. Zoogeographically, most of the region's ciids are members of either a boreal fauna (9 species) with Holarctic affinities, or a southeastern North American Nearctic fauna (5 species). The Maritime Provinces ciid fauna has representatives of five of the six known ciid host-use groups. Records of host fungi indicate that there are suitable hosts for all species of ciids found in the region in all three Maritime Provinces, indicating that ciids in the region appear not to be limited by availability of suitable host-fungi. However, Cis horridulus Casey, Cis striolatus Casey, and Cis subtilis Mellié, the three species in the Trametes host-use group, are very infrequently collected and apparently rare.Forests in Maritime Provinces have been greatly affected by forestry and disease, and such activities are known to impact fungal communities. Consequently such practices could have important repercussions for groups like the Ciidae that are reliant on fungi as both a food source and a habitat


ZooKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 897 ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
Yves Alarie

The Haliplidae, Gyrinidae, and Dytiscidae (Coleoptera) of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada were surveyed during the years 2006–2007. A total of 2027 individuals from 85 species was collected from 94 different localities, which brings to 87 the number of species recorded for this locality. Among these, Heterosternuta allegheniana (Matta & Wolfe), H. wickhami (Zaitzev), Hydroporus appalachius Sherman, H. gossei Larson & Roughley, H. nigellus Mannerheim, H. puberulus LeConte, Ilybius picipes (Kirby), and I. wasastjernae (C.R. Sahlberg) are reported for the first time in Nova Scotia. The Nearctic component of the fauna is made up of 71 species (81.6%), the Holarctic component of 16 species (18.4%). Most species are characteristic of both the Boreal and Atlantic Maritime Ecozones and have a transcontinental distribution but 19 species (21.8%), which are generally recognized as species with eastern affinities. In an examination of the Hydradephaga of insular portions of Atlantic Canada, it was shown that the island faunas of Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island are very similar (87 and 84 species, respectively) despite differences in composition suggesting that more Hydradephaga species have yet to be found on Cape Breton Island.


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