Critical Contributions, by Eskimo Hunters in Alaska, to Studies of Spring Migrating Bowhead Whales (Balaena Mysticetus)
By Thomas AlbertABSTRACT
Careful consultation with the hunters revealed that they felt that: 1) the whales are not largely confined to open leads, 2) the whales are not afraid of the ice, 3) whales pass on the broad front (to 20km wide), and 4) whales regularly break though ice in order to breathe. During the early and mid 1980's the field study was greatly strengthened with addition of capability to locate passing whales that vocalize. This was done by utilizing an array of hydroponics to passively locate (out to about 20 km) passing whales that vocalize. This greatly enhanced the collection of data since the visual detection technique is hampered by the presence of ice and fog. Even under good viewing conditions visual observers can reliably detect whales to distances of only 4 km.
With appropriate statistical integration of the visual and acoustic data, it has become clear that there are many more whales than earlier estimated and that the whales pass a wide front. The passive acoustic technique shows that many whales can pass on a day when extensive ice cover results in visual observers seeing few if any whales.
Extensive studies conducted since the early 1980s clearly show that Eskimo Traditional Knowledge regarding the bowhead whale, when incorporated into the study design, made a major contribution to a more precise estimate of the size of the bowhead whale population. The most recent data provide an estimate of 8,200 (95% estimation interval 7,200-9,400) and an annual rate of increase of 3.2% (95% confidence interval 1.4-5.1%).
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