And Randall R. Reeves Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute Final
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AERIAL SURVEYS OF MARINE MAMMALS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN BERING SEA by Stephen Leatherwood, Ann E. Bowles, and Randall R. Reeves Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute Final Report Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program Research Unit 622 December 1983 147 ‘TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures . 151 List of Tables . ..*....*. 161 INTRODUCTION . ● . ● . 164 MATERIALS AND METHODS . 166 Description of Study Areas . 166 Aerial Surveys . 173 Intended Survey Coverage . 173 Survey Design . 174 Transect Placement and Selection . 174 Conduct of Surveys . 175 Data Recording . 179 Data Entry and Verification . 184 Data Analysis . 185 Literature and Other Sources of Information . 192 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION . 193 Survey Effort . ● . , . 193 Sightings of Marine Mammals . 206 Data Analysis . ● . .* . 224 Density Estimates . 229 Limitations to Density Estimates . 231 Systematic Accounts . 235 Cetaceans . 235 Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) . 235 Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) . 242 Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) . 251 Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) . 269 Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) . 273 Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis) . ● . 283 Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) . , . 289 Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) . 298 Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) . .* . 304 Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) . 310 White Whale or Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) . 311 Family Ziphiidae - The Beaked Whales . 321 Baird’s Beaked Whale (Berardius bairdii) . 324 Cuvier’s Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris) . 328 Stenjneger’s Beaked Whales (Mesoplodon stejnegeri) . 332 Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) . ● . ● . 337 Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus) . 346 Pilot Whale (Globicephala ~.) . 348 Pacific White-sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens). 350 Northern Right-whale Dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis) . 351 Dan’s Porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) . 352 Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) . 360 Unidentified Cetaceans . 374 149 Other Marine Mammals . 376 Pinnipeds . ● . 378 Steller’s Sea Lion (Eumetopias .iubatus) . 378 Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) . 383 Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) . 387 Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) . 395 Largha Seal (Phoca largha) . 405 Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida) . 405 Ribbon Seal (Phocafasciata) . 409 Bearded Seal (Erignathus barbatus) . 414 Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga an~ustirostris) . 421 Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) . 428 Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) . 438 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . ..* . 440 LITERATURE CITED . ● . 441 APPENDICES: Appendix I . ..* . 465 Appendix II ● . .*** . ● . ● . ..* . 473 150 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Alaska, showing outer continental shelf OCS) oil lease planning areas - dashed lines - and the areas covered by the present investigations - bold lines - (modified from the Bureau of Land Management, undated, by permission of OMPA, Juneau). Figure 2. The eastern Bering Sea/Bristol Bay study area, showing the logistically determined strata (Blocks 1-6 and their associated zones), principal depth contours, and major airfields from which flight operations were conducted. Figure 3. The Shelikof Strait study area (Block 7) showing the 6 zones, principal depth contours, and place names referred to in the text. Figure 4. The eastern Bering Sea/Bristol Bay study area, showing placement of the random transects drawn for Survey 1 (for transects actually flown on Survey 1 see Figure 8). A new set of transects was drawn for each area for each of the eight survey periods. Figure 5a. The “stretched” turbine Grumman Goose used on Survey 1. Figure 5b. The “standard” turbine Grumman Goose used on Survey 2. Figure SC. The De Havilland Twin Otter used on Surveys 3-8. All three aircraft have different window configurations (see Table 3). Figure 6. Relationships between clinometer angles Y, and perpendicular distance from the transect line, X. Figure 7. The field data form used during aerial surveys (for explanation of entries and codes see Appendix I). Figure 8a. Survey effort during Survey 1, (mid- to late-March), in Blocks 1-6 (left) and 7 (right). The panels show effort on random transect (top) and on all other flights (bottom). Figure 8b. Survey effort during Survey 2 (May to early June) in Blocks 1-6 (left) and 7 (right). The panels show effort on random transects (top) and on all other flights (bottom). Figure 9a. Survey effort during Survey 3 (July) in Blocks 1-6 (left) and 7 (right). The panels show effort on random transects (top) and on all other flights (bottom). 151 Figure 9b. Survey effort during Survey 4 (August) in Blocks 1-6 (left) and 7 (right). The panels show effort on random transects (top) and on all other flights (bottom). Figure 10a. Survey effort during Survey 5 (September) in Blocks 1-6 (left) and 7 (right). The panels show effort on random transects (top) and on all other flights (bottom). Figure 10b. Survey effort during Survey 6 (late October through mid- November) in Blocks 1-6 (left) and 7 (right). The panels show effort on random transects (top) and on all other flights (bottom). Figure ha. Survey effort during Survey 7 (January) in Blocks 1-6 (left) and 7 (right). The panels show effort on random transects (top) and on all other flights (bottom). Figure llb. Survey effort during Survey 8 (mid-February to early March) in Blocks 1-6 (left) and 7 (right). The panels show effort on random transects (top) and on all other flights (bottom). Figure 12. The distribution of survey effort by Beaufort numbers (all effort within the study areas). Figure 13. The distribution of survey effort by Beaufort number by block (all effort, all areas). Figure 14a. The distribution of survey effort by Beaufort number and block for spring. Figure 14b. The distribution of survey effort by Beaufort number and block for summer. Figure 14c. The distribution of survey effort by Beaufort number and block for fall. Figure 14d. The distribution of survey effort by Beaufort number and block for winter. Figure 15. The distribution of survey effort by ice cover and block. Figure 16. The distribution of survey effort by depth class, overall. Figure 17a. The distribution of survey effort by depth class (Block 1). Figure 17b. The distribution of survey effort by depth class (Block 2). 152 Figure 17c. The distribution of survey effort by depth class (Block 3). Figure 17d. The distribution of survey effort by depth class (Block 4). Figure 17e. The distribution of survey effort by depth class (Block 5). Figure 17f. The distribution of survey effort by depth class (Block 6). Figure 17g. The distribution of survey effort by depth class (Block 7). Figure 17h. The distribution of survey effort by depth class (Other areas ). Figure 18a,b. Relative frequency of encounter with various species/ species groups during aerial surveys, Blocks 1-6. Figure 19a,b. Relative frequency of encounter with various species/ species groups during aerial surveys, Block 7. Figure 20. Perpendicular distance distributions plotted as probability density for (a) whales, (b) dolphins and porpoises, (c) sea otters, (d) walruses and, (e) seals and sea lions, showing the drop in sightings close to the transect line resulting from the inability to see under the aircraft. Figure 21. Approximate locations of takes (by nineteenth century Yankee whalers) and sightings (on recent research surveys, 1978-present) of bowhead whales in the survey area. The number in the one-degree block east of St. Matthew Island indicates the total number of bowhead whales observed there during the present surveys; that in the blocks west of the island indicates the number seen on aerial surveys from an ice breaker in April 1979 (Brueggeman, 1982) . Sources of other data are indicated in the legend. Figure 22. Location of right whale kills by whalers from Akutan (1923- 1935) and Port Hobron (1926-1935) and by Japanese pelagic whalers (1956-1963) (Omura et al., 1969). For details see Reeves, Leatherwood, and Karl in preparation. Figure 23. Right whale on ramp at Akutan Whaling Station. Figure 24. Right whales on ramp at Akutan Whaling Station. Figure 25a. Locations of aerial sightings of gray whales (all). 153 Figure 25b. Locations of aerial sightings of gray whales during Survey 1 (13 March - 1 April 1982). Dotted circles indicate areas where feeding was observed (see Table 11), dotted squares where feeding has been reported previously (Braham, in press). Figure 25c. Locations of aerial sightings of gray whales during Survey 2 (10 May - 3 June 1982). Dotted circles indicate areas where feeding was observed (see Table 11), dotted squares where feeding has been reported previously (Braham, in press). Figure 25d. Locations of aerial sightings of gray whales during Surveys 3 (3-28 July 1982), 5 (11-22 Sept. 1982), and 6 (26 oct.-l3 Nov.). Dotted circles indicate areas where feeding was observed (see Table 11), dotted squares where feeding has been reported previously (Braham, in press). Figure 26. Total number of gray whales seen by 1° block. Figure 27. Perpendicular distances truncated under the aircraft at 0.039 nm and the fitted generalized exponential model (a) and group size distribution (b) for gray whales in Blocks 1 and 6, Survey 2. Figure 28. Indices of abundance of gray whales by survey in the Bering Sea/Bristol Bay study area, from aerial observations. The bars across the top indicate expected periods of migration through the study area, with the solid lines peak periods and the dotted lines the tails of those distributions (from Hall et al., 1977; Rugh and Braham, 1979; Rugh, in press; Braham, in press). Figure 29. Indices of abundance of gray whales by depth class. Figure 30. Total number of fin whales seen by 1° block. Figure 31. Locations by survey of fin whales seen during aerial surveys and sightings from other research activities in the area. Figure 32. Indices of abundance of fin whales by survey in Blocks 1-6. Figure 33. Indices of abundance of fin whales by survey in Block 7. Figure 34. Indices of abundance of fin whales by depth class. Figure 35. The sighting of a sei whale during these surveys. 154 Figure 36. Total number of minke whales seen by 1° block. In blocks containing symbols the whales were reported as feeding, either from direct observation of their chasing fish (A) or by inference from their close proximity to the herring fishing fleet (“).