scholarly journals The catch of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) by Eskimos, with emphasis on the Western Arctic

1979 ◽  
Vol 314 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Floyd E. Durham
1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (12) ◽  
pp. 2601-2607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith A Hobson ◽  
Don M Schell

Previous measurements of naturally occurring stable isotopes of carbon (delta13C) and nitrogen (delta15N) along the baleen plates of western Arctic bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) have provided a continuous lifetime record of the feeding or nutritional ecology of these animals that migrate annually between isotopically different foodwebs. However, virtually nothing was known about isotopic patterns of eastern Arctic bowheads. We measured delta13C and delta15N values along the baleen plates of three eastern and one western Arctic bowhead whales taken from Canadian waters in 1988 and 1996. In contrast to western Arctic animals, we found strong evidence for periodic fluctuations in delta15N but not delta13C values in the eastern Arctic specimens. We interpret these results as evidence that eastern Arctic animals do not move between foodwebs that differ in delta13C signature and suggest that these whales either (i) move annually between areas isotopically enriched in 15N but not 13C, (ii) shift diet annually by about one third of a trophic level, or (iii) undergo seasonal fasting that results in enrichment of baleen delta15N resulting from protein catabolism.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. cou030-cou030 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. Hunt ◽  
R. Stimmelmayr ◽  
C. George ◽  
C. Hanns ◽  
R. Suydam ◽  
...  

Polar Biology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1133-1146 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Reinhart ◽  
S. H. Ferguson ◽  
W. R. Koski ◽  
J. W. Higdon ◽  
B. LeBlanc ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a
Author(s):  
Frank E. Fish ◽  
Kimberly T. Goetz ◽  
David J. Rugh ◽  
Linda Vate Brattström

Author(s):  
Max Friesen

This chapter provides description and interpretation of the two major, well-documented episodes of Arctic-wide migrations. The Paleo-Inuit (also called Paleoeskimo or Arctic Small Tool tradition) migration began around 3,200 B.C., with penetration of the central Arctic by highly mobile, small-scale hunter-gatherer groups. By around 2,500 B.C., the entire eastern Arctic had been peopled by cultures known as Pre-Dorset, Saqqaq, and Independence I. The Thule Inuit migration began around A.D. 1200, when complex maritime-oriented groups from the western Arctic initiated an extremely rapid population movement, spanning the North American Arctic within a generation. The chapter considers the timing and nature of each migration episode, as well as the motivating factors which have been proposed for them, including climate change, social or economic hardship, and acquisition of specific resources such as bowhead whales or metal.


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