ind L 'onrr 'hls series tncludes unpubllshed prellmlncmy reports Canada records no1 tntended for qeneral dlstrlbiitlon.

e y shorild no1 b e referred 10 In publlcatlons with- t clearance from the tssulng Board establishment a n d

CANADA iho~i t cl- tndtcatton of thelr mcmuscrip~ stahis.

CH B O A R D

.,-+:, =.- 1. L

O r C A N A D A

MANUSCRIPT REPORT SERIES

TIT LE

AUTHORSHIP

KEITH HAY - -- AND ST. J O H ~ ( ~ S - LFLD.

Establishment

ARCTIC BIOLOGICAL STATIO

STE, ANNE DE BELLEVUE, P e

Th13 serfss lncludes unpubllshsd prellminmy reports c~nd data records not In t endd for general distribiitlon. They shollld not be refsrred to In publlcatlons wifh- oui c l ~ a r a n c o frorn !he issulng Board establishment aiid

witholit c l ~ a r indication of thdr rnanuscr!pf statug.

MAMUSCRIPT REPORT SERIES

K E I T H HAY AND

R O B E R T S O N MCCLUNG

Establ ishment

Table o f Contents

Page

1. \dhi te Whales a t Somerset I s l a n d 1

1. Aer i a l Surveys 1

Cunningham I n l e t Study a . Bel uga Popul a t i o n b. Mass Migra t ions c. Low Tide Observa t ions d . R ~ u l t s o f Tower Observat ions

Popul a t i o n S t r u c t u r e and Col o u r Cl a s s e s Behaviour S p a t i a l D i s t r i b u t i o n E f f e c t o f Dis turbance Vocal i a a t i ons o f Bel uga Dura t ion of Dives Markings

e. Importance o f Cunningham I n l e t t o White Whales

I I . Aer ia l Survey o f Southwest Devon I s l a n d Coas t 18

I I I . Ae r i a l Survey - Resolu te t o Pond I n l e t 19

IV. Narwhal - Qaornak Hunting Area 2 1

Appendix 1. Bi rds observed i n t h e Cunningham I n l e t Area, Summer 1974 52

Appendix 2. Mammals o f Cunningham I n l e t and Area 5 3

Appendix 3. Miscel l aneous Faunal Observat ions, Pond I n l e t Area, Northern Baf f in I s l a n d 54

Appendix 4. Beluga Vocal i z a t i o n s 5 5

Acknowl edgements

We thank the Polar Continental Shelf P ro jec t of the Departnient

of Energy, Mines and Resources f o r l o g i s t i c support i n the high

a r c t i c . Dr. D . E . Sergeant and Mr. Wybrand Hoek of the Arc t i c Bi01 -

ogical S ta t ion provided academic and l o g i s t i c support f o r which

we a r e g r a t e fu l . Thanks i s due a l so t o Mr, Sam Ransom, N.W.T. Fish

and Game ~ e p a r t m e n t , and Seeana Attagootak of Pond I n l e t , both of

whom as s i s t ed our work i n Pond I n l e t .

1. White \+%ales a t Soinerset Island -----

On . Jdy 6 , the Polar Continental Shelf Project T ' w i ~ i Otter

provided our transpor t a t i o n to Cunningham I n l e t , Somerset Island ,

where we s e t L ~ J camp ?p, 1-Ioxvever , the inl .et was s t i l l frozen over and.

we awaited the a r r iva1 of the beluga herd.

1. Aerial Surveys

On Ju ly 8 and 10, we conducted 500' a l t i t u d e a e r i a l swcveys

of the north coast of Sonierse-t Island, from Pressure Point t o Port

I.,eopold (see f i g . 1 2 and 13) . The a i r c r a f t used was a Bel l 205 B

hel icopter , on char te r t o P.C.S.P.' frorn Dominion Pegasus Helicopters.

On July 8, behveeri 2043 and 2113 hr. C.S.T., the survey revealed

1-0-12 belugas with sorne la rger calves i n Barrow S t r a i t adjacent t o the

f l o e edge of Cunningham I n l e t , and 71 adults and 8 la rge calves rvere

cotulted along the coast behveen the inle-t and Pressure Point. FIany

ringed sea l s were observed on the Cunningham I n l e t f a s t i ce . Dense

fog encountered near P r e s s ~ r e Point d id not markedly I i q e r the survey.

On the r e t ~ ~ r n t r i p from Pressure Point t o Cunningham I n l e t (2120 to

2135 hrs . ) 16 adul t beluga and 1 ca l f were observed.

From C~rnningham I n l e t t o Garnier Bay, 85 white r~ha les were

counted, inclucling a group o f 60 adjacent to the r i v e r d e l t a systems

e a s t of Garnier Bay. Several la rger grey calves rvere noted. Fog and

r a i n were encountered t o the e a s t of Cunningham I n l e t , and we turned

back a t 2209 and reached Cunningham Inlef- a t 2248.

The .July 10 survey produced a co~ult of 9 white whales be-hqeen

Cirnningha~n In lc t and Port Leopold (2025 t o 2114 hrs . ) . Belugas were

observed t o be increasing in nmber both a t the f l o e edge and i n an

ice-enclosed pool a t the mouth of Cunningham In le t . The weather tvas

excel lent f o r t h i s survey. On the retu1-n t r i p from Port Leopold t o

Cunningham Inle-t. (2145 t o 2240 hrç . ) , 65 whales were counted, including

some grey calves. Most were observed in the shallows adjacent t o the

strearq d e l t a complexes e a s t of Carnier Bay.

Frorn Figure 13, the close association betxeen white tqhales

and shallow water adjacent t o stream mouths is evident. Ne have no

evidence for calving by tihales in Barrot? S t r a i t , p r ior t o the break-up

of Cmning'nam I n l e t f a s t ice . Calves associating with adul t s were

f a i r l y large and grey i n colour.

2. - Cunningham I n l e t Study -- The purpose of Our expedition to Cunningham In1 e t , Somerset

Island, was t o study a population of white whales which annually

spend a p a r t of the sumrner i n the mouth of the Cunningham River and

adjacent i n l e t , wi'th a view t o determining the importance of the r ive r

de l t a t o t h i s population.

Figure 1 2 shows the location of Cunningham I n l e t on the

north shore of S o ~ e r s e t Island. This i n l e t i s about 5 miles long

and 2-3 miles broad, and includes a tombolo i n the northeastern corner.

The C~mningham River enters the i n l e t a t its head whe-i-e it formç an

extensive smdy-s i l t de l t a system (see Fig . 1 ) . The major features of

the bathymetry of Curningham I n l e t include a shallow si11 a t i t s mouth

(depth about 10 f t . ) , a deep trough along the eas t shore (132 f t . max. depth),

a deep area ~ l o r t h of the r ive r mo-uth contiguous with the eastern

t ror~gh, ancl s h a l l o ~ ~ s along the wes t coas t (17. Thomson and K . 13~1c71anar1,

p.ersonal conx~ulication) . The bottom is largely sandy-si]. t ; kelps

occiur a t depths shal.lmier than 50 f t . . The Cunningham River exer t s cons iderab l e influence on the

s a l i n i t y regine of the i n l e t (D. Thomson and R. Buchanan, pers . comqi. ) . On a calm day, the surface sa l i r i i ty of the ' i n l e t near the r i v e r ou t l e t

is l e s s than 20%, ancl ç a l i n i t y increases ivith depth. S a l t r a t e r

is entrained upwards by the outflowing r i v e r water. Temperature

decreases ivith àepth; on August 25 it was 2 . Q'C a t tlie surface and -1. OOC

a t the bottom, near the head of the i n l e t The ter;;pertiture near the s i l l was 0.4 t o 1.1'~. On a

-r<indy day, the surface s a l i n i t y increaseç considerably due to wind

mixi~lg . The Cwninghani Riiver contains 10w concentrations of pilosphate

and n i t r a t e , v~hi le the i n l e t has surface phosphate and n i t r a t e con-

centrat ions of 0.5 - 0.7 and 0.5 - 1.0 mg. a t . /m3, iiot pa r t i cu la r ly

high values (D. Thomson and R. Buchan'm, pers. comm.). Deep water

concentrations a re higher and nu t r i en t levels increase with increasing

sa1 i n i t y . Chlorophyll. a concentrat ion is a l so low i n Cunningham

In le t . Both nutrien.ts and chlorophyll decrease toward the Cunningham

River. Most of tlie priniary production rnay be due t o benthic plan-ts

(D. Thomson and R. BuchCuian, pers. conlm. ) . The t i d a l ,uriplit.~~de and current i n Cunniiighaii I n l e t and

lorcer rcaches of the r iver a rc corzsidcrable. The ticle was usually

of' the mixed senii-diurnal type. Z o ~ p l ~ m k t o ~ i nia). be srvept i n and out

of the i n l e t by the strong t i d a l c ~ i r r e n t s , such as the pteropod

S p i r a t c l l a he l ic ina (Thonson and Buchanan, pers. corn. ) . -- - --

In order t o study bvluga behaviour i n the r i v e r d e l t a , lire

erected a 20 f t . upright alminimi scaf fo ld on July 24 on the rvest

s ide of the r i v e r . This toriier is shori~l i n Figure 2. The tower was

p a r t i a l l y submerged a t most higher high t ides ; however, due t o reduced

hi gh t i d e l eve l s in l a t e Ju ly r?c moved the .towvr 20 yds . furtl ier

e a s t -r\rhere it afforded a b e t t e r observation s i t e . Figure 1 indica tcs

the approsimate location of the toh7er, which a t high t i d e was i n

proximity t o the concentration of \<hales i n the r ive r mouth.

The optimm observation progran included Ohro 3 hr . observations

pvr &y, each centered on the predicted tirne of high t i d e , as obtained

from the t i d e tables fo r Resolute. Our ovrr~ observations. of the t i d e

agreed siel1 with the predicted t i d e . A t the beginning of each obser-

vation, t he maximum and minimum a i r temperature were recorded; t h i s

gave approximate 1 2 hr.. maxirnum and minimum temperature, except when

the obsen~a t ion programme was disrupted due t o bad weather, e t c . . A t

the beginning, rniddle and end of each observation period we rilade the

followulg obse~vat ions :

1. A i r ternperature.

2 . Surface water temperature.

3. Wind d i rec t ion (es tiina ted) and speed (hand-held p i t h b a l l

anemometer) . 4 . Shy conclition.

5 . V i s ib i l i t y .

6. Nater level (height of water above tower base).

Obsenrations on sjhale behaviour, population s i z e , airid movexents

iiere made during the observation period, along with 35 ml pfiotography

using a Nikor-mat canera and 400 mm Brshnell lens (%&en req~ i i r ed ) .

Table 1 is a çwnmary of the high t i d e observations.

ûn a ferq occasions rye made 2 min. measurernents of current

r a t e using a b l~del 2030 d i g i t a l flowmeter. The flo7,meter \<as ylaced

about 6 i n . belo.ri the surface i n 2-3 f t . 0% water. These observations

a re presented i n Tztble 3. E.ieasurernents taken i n the western channel

near the tower a r e not va l id meaçurcç of r i v e r floxc, since the western

chCamel const i tuted a bachqater area ancl was i so la t ed frorn the main

r i v e r flori. Tlius tfie value of 15 cm/sec. represents the speed of

the t i d a l cur rent . The r ive r flot? on the flood t i d e Fias 21-52 crn/sec.;

a s ingle value f o r r i v e r flow on the ebb t i d e was 88 cm/sec..

Table 2 p re se~ i t s water temperature data a s reported by

personnel of the Geological Survey of Canada working i n Cimingharn

I n l e t . The surface temperature of the i n l e t hcad varied £rom 6.0 t o

10.0' C, wi th the highest readings a t the r i v e r o u t l e t i t s e l f .

a . Beluga Population

Figure 3 presents our v isua l estimates of the nmber of

beluga i ~ i the d e l t a and adjacent i n l e t as a function of time. About

15-20 belugas (most white, only a f e w dark) occupied the de l ta on

July 21, when the ice was broken enough to permit t h e i r entry. Since

rve hacl l c f t Cunninghani In l e t August 9 t o niove over t o Pond In le t

t o s tudy narrvhal , the C . S. C . personnel niade l i riii t ed observations on

beliiga from t h a t timc oni~ard. r4ccord-ing t o Robert Taylor O E the G . S .C. ,

seisiiiic work rvas car r ied out i n the i n l e t frorn +August 16 on, when only

20-30 -r.hales were present i1-i tl-ic i n l e t . AL1 whales had l e f t Cunning-

han1 In le t by about the 20 August. About 10-12 rghales were seen i n

the ton11010 hay on 1 5 i l u g u ~ t by J . Horsman of the G.S.C..

Other \$hale observations by personnel of G . S. C . include

tha t of D r . A. N. Roydell , who saw many .rihite whales with pink neonatal

calves i n Cresrvell Bay, southeast Somerset Island (pers. comi. from

Ken Drabirisky, G . S. C. ) . About 200 na~whal rkTere çpotted moving eas t

along the nortli shore of Somerset Island 011 A u p s t 24, when the i ce

concentration i n Barrow S t ~ a i t t o the of Cunningham Inle-t was

high (R. Taylor, G.S.C., pers . corn.) . Nan~hal anclwalrus Kere observed

by G , Ç . C . personnel near Pressilre Point, Some~set Island, on Ju ly 6.

From Figure 3 it is evident t h a t the beluga population

peaked about A u w t 6-7 a t çomewhat in excess of 1000 animals.

b . Mass P.ligrations

Fig. 3 shoiirs t ha t mass movements of the population out of

the i n l e t occurred on , J~J .~Y 30-31 and A u p s t S . On Ju ly 30, betrgeeri

1400 and 1700 h r s . , we ~ io t i ced only about 5 whales i n the r i v e r riiouth

at l o ; ~ t i d e (1555 hrs . , 1. S f t .) . The G . S .C. camp relayed the following

information to us . A t 1530 hrs . on Ju ly 30, 300 belugas (some calves

aild iinmcltures) wcre observcd Iieading north along the rirest coas t (2 0

f t . off-shore, water 10 f t . dcep) past the G.S.C. c q toward the sea.

A t 1645 h r s . , 250 ivhalcs passed t h c i r camp heading soutli, including

SOIE grej- arid niottled clark animrils but rnainly white animais. A t 1710

hrs . this groiv of ~cllalcs turried and headed north again. The ice con-

centrat ion i n I!~TTOW S i r a i t \lac; 1/10 to the west, 8/10 t o the eas t .

On July 31, fron a hi11 a t the southx~est corner of the i n l e t , \lie

obsenred no whales anywhere i n Culninghm In le t , a1though the popu-

l a t i o n returned l a t e r i n the cky a t high t ide .

On August 8 , a t the evcning low t ide , tire observed very few

whales i n the de l t a and adjacent i n l e t . By 1230 hrs . on August 9 ,

the rvhales had returned to the del-ta.

We can only surrriise tha t the wha1.e~ l e f t the i n l e t t o feed

out among the i ce f lovs obsemed i n Barrow S t r a i t , perhaps on polar

cod (Boreogaclus saida) .-- and a>mphipods associated tv i t l i the ice. The

only d i r e c t evidence o:f feeding a c t i v i t y is deri-ved frorn an immature

l igfit broim fernale, stranded i n the d e l t a on July 26, and whose stomach

contained a small trnloun-t of crustaceans (miphi.pods) axd seaweed ,

sampled on July 29. Tl1i.s animal had a length of 271 cm, niaximwn

g i r t h of 182 cni, and blubber thickness of 5 cm. No t ee th had erupted.

Several tee th were taken f o r age cletermi~iatiori .

c . L,ow Tidc Observa t ions -

Figures 4-9 present the r e s u l t s of 6 observations of Cunning-

han I n l e t ; ~nost observations rvere conducted from a high hi11 a t the

s o u t h ~ ~ c s t corner of the i n l c t around the t h e of 10x1 t i d e .

On A u p s t 4, froni 1515-1715, with t i d e ebbing, al1 animals

.rvcrc i n the r i v c r and adjacent i n l c t Iiead (see Figure 4) . On the same

date , frai1 2130--0000 while the t i d e was floocling, many animals m r e

seen i ~ i the sl-iallowç along the ~ r c s t coas t , nlestly white nnimals but

a l so soxe gr'ey lrnmatures and 1 neonate (Figure 5 ) . Figure 6 prescrits

r e s u l t s f o r August 5 fron 0317-0900, ju s t a f t c r low t i d e . Belugas

-rrere i n groups of 3-10, with some s o l i t a r y bh i t e anirnals, along the

west coast of the i n l e t . .2 few imnatures were seen i n t h i s a rea ,

Animais f a r t h e s t Frorx the d e l t a were usually s o l i t a r y whites. No

orgmized herd movenent was observed. On August 6, from 0917-1016

on the flood t i d e , most whales tvere probably outside the i n l e t , feeding

among the i ce pans of Barrotv S t r a i t . Mmy s o l i t a r y whites were near

the i n l e t centre , and many groups of ri!hales svere moving toward the

de l t a (Fig. 7 ) . The low t i d e observation of _August 6 (1945-2100)

revealed considerable d ispersa l of whales (Fig. 8 ) ; the far-ranging

r.,hales m r e usually white and so l i t a ry . On August 7 a t low t i d e

(2025 t o 2110) we noticed a great r e d ~ ~ c t i o n i n the population, perhaps

only half o i the previous number. Ice i n Barrow S t r a i t rfaç a l so

noticed. A small nmber of whales -riras dispersing i n the i n l e t head

(see Figure 9).

The G . S. C. czrrg- reported tha t about 200 belugas passed the i r

cainp on Aug~ist 5 £rom 2330-2355 h r s . , heading north 25-50 f t . off-shore.

Betsveen 0000 a11d 0030 h r s . , on August 6, sorne of these whales turned

and fleaded back south. These observations occurrcd during the flood

t i d e . A t 1900 h r s . of August 6 , 4 or 5 beluga rvere observeil 200 yd.

south of the G. S. C . camp; Lhi s s~lould be about one hour before low

ticle.

Tl-icsc obseivations suggest th? follo;iring sequence of

evt-nts. .As the tidc: cbhs, beluga rire forccd fmthe r ancl Further

doimstrea~r, Arourid the time of low t ide , rnost rtrhales a re conceiitr-atecl

in t he i n l e t head jus t off the r i v e r o u t l e t ; a srnaller number remain

i n the extrcme doimstream p a r t of dle decper eastcrn charinel of

the r i v e r . fIowever, just before o r a t the time of low t ide , many

animals disperse i n the i n l e t , and. the peak of tfiis dispersal is

reachcd during the in temzdia te flood stage. Dispersing ~~rha les a r e

usually scen i n shallow water of the i n l e t head or along the west

Coast s h a l l a i s ; a f e w disperse fur ther a f i e ld i n deeper water. Some

probably 1ea1-e the i n l e t . The dispersing population is small and

c o ï ~ s i s t s of small groups or s o l i t a r y rqhites. The grea tes t number

rernain i n the llead of the i n l e t j u s t o f f the r ive r niouth. During

the l a t t e r stages of the floocl t i d e vi'nales reassemble a t and enter

the r i v e r rnouth.

d. - Resul ts of To-rser - OSser-vations ---

These r e su l t s have been abstracted fi-om our f i e l d notebooks

and a r e surmnarized under the following heaclings .

Population Structure and Colour Classes -- A clivcrsi ty of s ize and colour pat terns of ~ i h i t e ~ ~ h a l e s

rias notccl. Tllesc colour and s i z e c lasses a re subjectively categorized

in Table 5.

Table 5 shoxvs tliat nconates a re i n i t i a l l y f a i r l y l i g h t

and darken sonietthat over the season, as r ~ e l l a s increasing grea t ly

in g i r t i l and re l a t ive ly l i . t t l e i r i lengtli. Calves a r e clarkest i n

colour, while older immatures a r e grey and adul ts a re white.

Fernale r~hales support t h e i r neonatal calves on t h e i r

Ixck and nudge them t o the surface f o r a i r . In spi-te of rapid

swiiming of t h e i r mothers, young calves kept pace, orving t o the

hydrodynmiic f r i c t ional coupl ïng be Ween niother and calf . Defini te sexing \?as sometimes possible; i , e . , when a fernale

exposed her pairecl mam.ary sl i tç o r a male exposed the geni tal slit

and s ingle mamary s l i t .

One %Ghi.te animal accoqanying a ca l f had ctrrled f l ippe r s .

Othel-wise, a l 1 white animais with curled f l ippers were not accornpanying

calves, and a r e thought to be males.

Behaviour -

n ie f i r s t category under behaviour is kin and in ter -

individual re la t ions . We observed females nursing t h e i r calves, e i t h e r

neonates o r larger grey or brosm calves. Some large white feinales

fiad a neonatal ca l f and a l a rge r grey o r brosm c a l f . The association

with the older ca l f was consicterably looser than with the neonate.

Occasionally the older c a l f was f a i r l y large and l i g h t coloured,

and was probably not being nursed by the fernale any more. Occasionally

a neonatal c a l f may associate with i t s mother plus 1 or 2 other white

animals more loosely.

Groups o:f aninials r ~ i t h i n the popula.tion were generally

srna1.l (LT t o 1.0). These inclucled: loose associations of several

fe~nales and tl ieir yowlg; groups of rihite miiiials .r.:l.th curiecl f l ippers

( l ike ly n ~ l e s ) ; arid sntall gro~ips of irimatures. Large white niales

a re occasionally s o l i t a ~ y ; i t i s bclievecl these rimy be the "leaders",

cont ro l l ing group s truct i l re ,and movement S . Ne observecl t ha t the

cmimals were usua1l.y contini~al.ly in motion md re-organizing. Occasional

pa11ic s e t in. and a la rge group of beluga (30-100; soinetimes fewer)

wo~dd dash vi-olently downstrearn and suddenly peace siiould reigri; .the).

tioiild then return q s t r e a m .

Individual a c t i v i t y includes the fo l loxing examples . A

~ i h i t e animal xqas observed laying on i t s s idc, splashing i ts flukes

mcl ra i s ing i t s Iriead v e r t i c a l l y out of die -rater. ? t ~ o belugas, a

l i g h t grey and a wlii.te, were seen l i f t i n g t h e i r heads and t a i l s ver-

t i c a l l y out of the tiateT. Adults often ro l l ed over o r si,\Tiun on t h e i r

backs . TriTo white anl-mals -cGere observed smacking each other with t h e i r

f l t k e s . AdüLt animals, especial ly those r v i t h curlecl f l- ippers ( l ike ly

males), occasional.ly charged and nipped each other . -4 large white

so l i t a ry bel.uga rias swi~niing around gripping a piece of f l a t rock

i n i t s rnouth. The grea tes t ac t iv i ty was obsen~ed i n \+.hales dormstream

of the tower near the inl .e t head.

I t is thougl-it t h a t the t a i l f lexure occasionally observed

could be re la ted t o pxr tur i t ion , but t h i s is speculation.

Spat.ial D i s t r i bu t ion -

The l o r ~ t i d e d-i.stribution has already been discussed. At

higli ticle, belugas a r e concentrated i.n the r ive r , from the i n l e t head

t o 100 yd. o r imsc upstr-eani of the torrier i n both tl-ie west and eas t

charulels . They occur fu r the r upstrearii i r i the decpcr eas t cliannel.

Belugas seeinecl t o be mQre nmierouç i ~ n the weçt c.hannel., i n s p i t e of

i ts shallorver clepth. The rirhales of the 2 channels were separated

by a sandbar shallowly submtrged a t high t ide ; f r e e interchange of

r~7hz~les from one c h m e l t o the other could occur north and sou.t.il

of t h i s sandbar. I t rvas t h i s sariilbar that . stranded the young fernale

beluga. ilnimals occasi.onally s-tranded on another sandbar 50 yd . upriver of the tower but worked themselves f r e e by thrashing.

A t liigh t ide , only a fe-w whales i n reduced density rliere

seen a t the adjacent i n l e t heacl, although t h i s could be qui te var iable .

The aninals f a r doi~~lstreain i n the i n l e t head a l e dominated by large

white beluga, which occurred among broken i ce f l o e s i n the i n l e t head

in l a t e July. Hotriever, some large white aclult males move ~ q s t ~ e a r r i

r ~ i t h females and t h e i r cafves and other larger immature animals.

A t the highest t i d e s (riew and f u l l nioon) , t he popul.ation

moved fur ther upstream than normal and formed la rge concentrations

there. They al.so moved upstream consi.derably before the high t ide

peak and fer^ reniained f a r dormstream.

A s the t i de ebbs, rvhales begin to move downst.rearn, many

moving over t o the deeper e a s t chanriel, r~llere they can remain

upstream longer. The I.ast animals t o r e t r e a t a r e small li.ght grey

and larger blue-grey calves and t h e i r mothers, o lde r Immatures preceding

t h i s group dorurls tream.

A s the t ide floods, belugas advance upstream t o 1 hr .

priol- t o the big11 t i d e . I n i t ia Lly they occupy the east- ch:-211ncl, then

many rilove over to the 1)-t c l i a n ~ l ~ l a s high t i d e approaches, The firsf-

whales to aclvance upstream a r e females and small calves. As whalcs

advance upstream i n a flooding t i d e , they constarxtly advance and

r e t r e a t i n stages in an t ic ipa t ion of the higher svater Icvels .

Eff ec t of D i s turbance

Aircraf t a t a l t i t u d e s of l e s s than 200 f t . pznic the whales

in to random movenient , thrashj ng and xiheel ing , e t c . . The sudden

movement of an observer i n the water could also fr ighten the whales.

S l ight tower movement,~ or -sibrations a l so spooked the whales into

movement . Some whales acted very ziarily of the tower .

Vocalizations of Beluga --.

White whales have a var ied repertoire of sounds. On many

occasions beluga riere noticed emitting a i r bubbles from the blotdiole

whi le submergea cmd moving the head l a t e ra l ly . This was thought t o

be correlated siith the echolocation o r other çonation processes. Ani-

mals about t o collicle eniitted bubbles from t h e i r b l ~ r ~ h o l e s before

veering t o avoid co l l i s ion . Pings and cl icks a re thought t o be

echolocation somds, which were produced by adul t whales and younger

animal5 (eg. a small blue-grey ca l f ) . ?'he whales seemecl t o be niore vocal i n the morning than l a t e r

i n the day. Appendix 4 i s a l i s t of Our subjective interpretatioris of

the many so~mds belugas make.

Several divcs of a large s o l i t a r y white beluga were timed.

TTiey varied frmi 15-120 sec-. with a rnean of 52 sec . . Neonalal animals

surfaced aiuch niore frequently than adul ts . Respiration required only 1

o r 2 seconds.

' larkin~s

31any indiviclirals had d i s t inc t ive . marks or colouration pat terns

t h a t could be used t o ident i fy them. bhny white animals had nurrrerous

orange splotcnes =and scratches and scars , especial ly on t l ieir head

and back. !.iany scratches could be tooth marks . A young brovn animal

had a black dorsal ridge. The t a i l Elukes of adul ts were edged with

black dorsal ly and vent ra l ly ~ i h i l e t h e i r f l ippers were edged with

black dorso-posteriorally. One large bro~tn beluga had dark b r o ~ ~ n

c i r c u l a r rrarkings, especial ly on the back, xtihile another b rom animal

\vas splotched with black. Orle white aninla1 had a deep notch i n the

dorsal r idge; the or igin of t h i s notch i s obscure.

In pa r t i cu la r , iiie were interested i n the 'Inportance of the

r i v e r nouth as a calving s i t e f o r t h i s population. Although we have no

d i r e c t evidence of calving, lie d id observe mA increaslng mrmber of

small l i g h t grey-brown neonatal calves. Horeever, the t o t a l population

lias increasing s i m r i l taneously, so it i s not know rvhether the new

rec ru i t s migrated in to the d e l t a frorn Rarro:i S t r a i t o r were ac tua l ly

born tliere. ï l i is question could be niore f ~ l l l y reçolved by means of

a e r i a l surveys fo r neonates along the f loe edge p r io r to break-up of

Cmi.nghani I n l e t -fast i ce and by means of sequential aeria.1 photography

of the d e l t a a t high ticle tlîroughout. tlie çLinrnier season, to docliriien-i1

the seasonal n m e r i c a l increase of rieonates and t h e i r possibly in-

creasing representation in the popul.atiori. Because small neonates

ivith f resh ~ n i ~ b i l i c a l scai-s rvere present a t a l 1 times, r ~ e believe the

calving occurred throughout the whole observation period (24 July --

8 A4ugLlst).

The question of possi-ble feediiig a c t i v i t y could be investigated

more closely by s t r a t e g i e net t ing f o r food ( f i sh) species ava i l ab i l i t y

and by a control led cu l l ing of some of the belugas i n the i n l e t a-fter

t l leir re turn f ron Barrow S-trai t . Dependirlg m the sarnple s i ze , t h i s

harvest would complement the l i fe -h is tory information provided by

sequeritial a e r i a l photography , i n addition t o providing f eeding data .

Ori both the small and large-scale migrations, the whal.es cou.1~1 be

follorvecl by boat or a i r c r a f t i n order t o observe t h e i r behaviour outside

the i n l e t . D r . A.?Q. Mansfield has suggested t h a t other possibly su i t ab le

high Arct ic es tuar ies could be surveyed f o r beluga herds, using fixecl-

rsing a i r c r a f t , a f t e r an i n i t i a l examination of a e r i a l photographs f o r

potent ial calving areas.

A s t o the importance of the r ive r d e l t a t o t h i s large rchale

population, it is possible tha t the r ive r mouth provides thennal

protection t o neonates, which lack the insula t ive blubber of older

ani-mals. The surface temperature of the r i v e r mouth near the tower

varied only a 1 i~ t t l . e alcl averaged 45% (See Tables 1 and 2 ) . I t is

a lso possible t h a t the d e l t a ' s shallowness a s s i s t s par tur i t ion and

i n i t i a l SUI-Facing of the newbo rn ca l F, a l tliough the reduced sa l i i i i ty

of the d e l t a -rïatcrs sqould decrease the buoyancy of neonates. Ibwever,

we obscrved neonateç supported by t h e i r mothers and surfacing with

no apparent d i f f i c u l t y . The question of the importance of the a r c t i c

estuarine environnent to beluga populations lias not been f u l l y resolved.

In view of the possible developnient of gas .and o i l f i e l d s i n the high

Arctic i n the near fu ture , thesc beluga concentrations should be

ident i f ied and examined with respect t o t h e i r ecological significance

and the i r s e n s i t i v i t y to environnienta1 clisturbaices.

The question of the possibili 'cy of Cumingham I n l e t being

a feeding area f o r the ~ d l i t e whale needs c loser examination. F i r s t

of a l l , the i n l e t i s an estuary, i f one considers Do~iald W. Pr i tchard 's

def in i t ion of an estua$: "An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal

body of water rihich has a f r ee comection with the open sea and ~iri thin

which sea water is measurably d i lu ted with f resh water derived from

land drainage." Estuaries are usually thought of a s highly proctiictive

environrnents , a i d Cunni~igham I n l e t is seemingly not an exception. This

i n l e t has a considcrably Iarger density and d ivc r s i ty of benthic

animals than western Barrow S t r a i t and Peel S d (D. Thomson and R.

Buchanan, pers . corn. ) . Most benthic samples were dominated by one species, e i the r

a bivalve or gastropod mollusc, a polychaete, or a crustacean (ganunarid

o r ostracod). Table 4 presents r e su l t s of the benthic samples. 111

the southern p a r t of the i n l e t , bivalves s c r e predominant, although

a George II. Lauff, cd. , ----- Estuaries, h e r i c a n Association f o r the Advance- d rie rit of Sci cnce, New York, 1967.

polychae t e s were dominant inmediately of f the r ive r mouth. rhe bivalve

P o r t i a ~ d i a a rc t i ca was dorrliriant i n and r e s t r i c t ed t o the s o f t mud

bottom off the r iveï mcuth. Two species of polychaete; a r e a l so

r e s t r l c t e d t o t h i s area.

The northv~est corner of the ~ n l e t was dominated by 7 species

of polychaete r e s t r i c t e d t o t h i s area.

Deep $\rater had the l o r ~ e s t density of benthos. Cllaetozone

setosa, a polychaete, waç dominant and r e s t r i c t ed to this area.

The shallox?r-water benthos of the ç i l l was dominated by

gammarid amphipods . ,4ppareritly, a s e s s i l e benthos cannot get established

due t o ice scouring. The bottom sediments of the i n l e t a r e generally

s i l t y clay niud, with sone coarse sand and rocks a t the extreme southern

and northern ends. The seah-eeds of the sha110~i areas providc a substrate

f o r 15 species of polychaetes, molluscs, and crustaceans (D. Thomson

and R. Buchanan, pers. corn. ) . The rocky i n t e r t i d a l zone of the west coast i s a l s o a

potent ia l food source for white whales, with amphipods occurring between

the rocks, Cottid f i s h larvae a t Stream mouths, and copepods,

ctenophores, and pteropods among grounclecl ice pieces (D. Thomson and

R. Buchanan, pers . corrim. ) . Our otvn observations have demonstrated tha t la rge nmbers of

aqhipods and sculpins occur i n i so la ted t i d a l pools i n the de l t a .

Thus, potent ial benthic food f o r belugas i s most abundant

i n sha l lor~ water, especial ly a t the south end of Cunningham l n l e t

and the northwest area of the i n l e t . This correlates ra ther ive11 with

the d is t r ibut ion of d.ispersir.ig individuals rvithin the i n l e t , i . e . ,

they do ne t often venture irlto deeper lirater a1.d rernain i.n shallow water

along the %$est coast o r i n shal lo~v sqater a t the head of the i n l e t .

Thus, considering the high derisity of benthos i n Cunningham I n l e t and

the presence of anphi.pocis and seaweed i n the s tranded beluga ' s s tomach,

t h e potent ia l inportance of Ctrnningham I n l e t a s a f'eeding area cannot

be overlooked .

I I . Aerial Survey of Southirest Devon Island Coast - -- --

On August 9 ive returmecl t o Resolute, and on August 10 we

conducted a e r i a l s u n e y s of the southriaest Devo~i Island coas t l ine ,

y a r t i ~ ~ l a r l y the coas t l ines of T%xniell and Radstock Bays (Figures

10 and 11) . The a i r c r a f t used was the P.C.S.P. ïwin Otter , a t a l t i t u d e

900-1200' and speed 135-140 knots. For a l 1 of our coastal çurveys

we generrtlly flew about one-half mile offshore.

No marine marmls were observed during the f l i g h t from

Resolute t o IVhaler Point (1015 t o 1102) along the north shore of

Somerset Island. The average i c e concentration of Barrow S t r a i t

Firas 2/10, mainly large p d d l e d f loes and d r i f t i n g brash i ce .

The Devon Island survey began a t 1234 hrs . C.S.T. near

Fe l l foot Point and terminated a t 1341 hrs. near Beechey Island.

Survey conditions riere excellent - the water surface was smooth and

the ce i l ing high. No rvhales rvere observed i n Naxwell Bay; however ,

465 wcre counted i n the off-shore shallo~irç betrveen Cape Hurd and

Gascoyne In le t (Fig. LO), with the grea tes t number observed near the

mouth of Radstock Most of these v.haleç coniprised a feiv large

groups i h i c k were inoving eastward alo3g the south coast of Devon

Islzncl. Only xd-iite belugas were o b s e r ~ e d , with dark anirnals probably

d i f f i c u l t t o see.

A co~nparison of Figures 10 and 11 reveals tha tmos t beluga

were seen i n r e l a t ive ly sha l lor~ water o f f r ive r moutliç. This was a l s o

demonstratcd f o r beluga populations along the northern Soriierset Island

c03st.

I I I . Aerial Survey - Resolute t o Pond I n l e t -- This çurvey scaç carr ied out August 1 2 from a Txin Otter

which we chartered from Kenting Aviation in Resolute. A lorq overcczst

and patches of dense fog and s~iotvfall reduced v i s i b i l i t y considerably

although £rom the sumey a l t i t ude of 1000 f e e t marine manrmals were

eas i ly observed. Our f l i g h t speecl ax7eraged about 120 knots. Barrow

S t r a i t had l i t t l e ice cover except for some la rge dis integrat ing f loes .

No rghales were observed betxieen Resolute and Garnier Bay (0922 t o 0952

hrs.), but j u s t t o the eas t of Garnier Ray, i n the s h a l l o ~ ~ s off-shore

a s t r e a ~ delta. complex near Cape A h i r a 1 >ftClintock, we spotted 102

belugas swiinning westward, a t 1000 hr . C. S.T. (Fig. 1 2 and 13). They

comprised 100 mimals i n 3 groups and 2 white anirnals. A t 1022 we

proceeded from Cape Clarence, northeastern Somerset Island, t o A h i r a l t y

In l e t a t high a l t i t u d e due t o fog.

The Ailmi ra l ty In l e t survey was conducted from an a l t i t ude

of 1000 f t . and cornmenccd a t 1100 hr. near the Turner C l i f f s . The

ce i l ing rvas about 25û0 f t . , the sea was calni, and loca l fog was

encountered i n -the vl~cini-ty of Yeoman Isl-and. A refuel ing stop wa.5

made at h c t i . c Bay a f t s r the cen.tra.1 and eas t coas-t sirrveys.

The hchi ra l ty I n l e t survey consisted of 3 f l i g h t t ransects :

cent ra l , e a s t coast , alci vrest coast . Al1 fligl-its extended £rom the

approxii~ate l a t j tucle of Arctic Bay t o Iglorsi l i t Island. This survey

produced counts of 2 white belugas, 11 nar~qhal calves, and 172 other

nandlal. Tliey occurred mainly along the West coast £rom Turner C l i f f s

t o Kaki* Point and near the centre of the i n l e t fi-om Stephens Headl'znd

to Cape Cunningham. On the West s ide of the i n l e t r.re observed 13

narwllal, most with tusks, motionless a t the surface and clumped

together rvith tusks a ~ c l f l ukes orerlapping. We l e f t the ASniralty

l n l e t area a t 1306 h r s . .

Figure 1 4 presents the d i s t r ibu t ion of nanvhal observations

i n Admiralty I n l e t and Figure 15 indicates i c e conditions encowltered

along the survey route. Bathymeti-y of A h i r a l t y I n l e t i ç showri i n

Figure 16.

Coastal surveys of Kol~ktoo Bay, Milne I n l e t , and p a r t of

Eclipse Somd revealed a count of 168 nanvhal plus a t l e a s t 5 calves.

NarcJhal rliere observed mainly near Pisikt.arfik Island and Athole Point,

north of Ragged I s l m d =id Cape Hatt , and near Bruce Head (Koluktoo

Bay), where we es-timated 130 nanvhal of diverse age and sex conposi.tion.

This p a r t of the survey begcan near ~ i s i k t a r f i k Island a t 1355 hrs . and

ternunated a t Pond I n l e t a t 1452 hrs . C .S. S. . The sumey a l t i t u d e

was 1000 f e e t ancl the ce i l ing was liigh. lzigi~x-es 1 7 and 18 present

riari\-hal sight.ir:gs and ice conditions, respect ively , for the >f i lne

In l e t survey, and Figure 19 preçênts 11he bathymetry of t h e area.

A co i~a r i - son of rialr.hal. distribu-tiori r\riktll the bathyme2:ri.c

charts sho~%~s tha t they are usually found i n very deep water. The icc

concentration i n both Actniral t y Inlee and the blilne I n l e t area was

very loi$, and the i c e was extremely puddled and fragaiented. Narwhal ,

especial ly i n A&iniralty I n l e t , were often observed among the dis inte-

grating i ce f loes .

I V . Narrchal - Qaornak Huntino Area Q--

On Auguçt 2 1 , r ~ e arrived a t the Qaornak hmt ing area, located

on the \$est Coast of Eclipse Sound, northwest of P i s ik t a r f ik Island.

Sam Rançon, the N.1Y.T. garne office^ for riosthern Baffin Island, pro-

vided transportation i n h i s 40 f t . whaleboat, the Nassiq. ibre camped

near the northemmos-t of the 2 hunting camps, accompanied by ivayne

JTogl and h!alcolrn Kinsby of the IJniversity of B r i t i s h Columbia, who were

studying the anatomy of the thoracic r e t i a l a r t e r i a l sys-tem of the

On August 24 we were joined by Stef Stefansson and Bob Martin

of the Freslwater I n s t i t u t e i n Winnipeg. They were conducting ecological

s t u d i e s . i n Strathcona Sound, Admiralty In le t , and had corne t o Qaornak

t o obtain organ and t i ssue sanp.les from narwlial for heavy metal analysis .

Froin t h e i r hel icopter they had observed mny nanvhal i n Koluktoo Bay

and near Alfred Point. Stefansson returned t o +Arctic Ray on August 27.

On August 2 2 , Seea~ina httagootak caught a Young fernale nant~hal

near camp. Ive obtainecl the ovarics and measurements of t h i s animal,

and sve - r i r i 1 1 receive the 2 b r i r i ed tee tb (tugal osa) l a t e r from tlie U .B.C.

tcarn, since tliey rcquired thc en t i r e anter ior port ion of the carcass

fo r fur ther alatoinjcnl study i n the laborator).. Seemna a l so gave ris

the tuçalosa of a large male nant~hal caught a fer+ days previously

(lqi th tusk ca. 7 ft . ) .

Three namhal (including a ca l f ) were s ighted j u s t off-shore

on 26 ilugust. They were pursued by the hwiters, bu t escaped because

of t h e i r a b i l i t y t o undzrtake long, deep dives and to s w i m rapidly

chil le subnerged. Hunters l a t e r observed but d id not pursue 5 tuskless

nmhal t o the south of Qaornak.

On hlugust 27, a large group of nar ï~hal , consis t ing mainly of

yomg males, bras s ighted i~i sliallow off-shore waters adjacent t o our

camp, heading north along the coast. Two canoes with a t o t a l of 5

hunters pursuecl t h i s groirp of whales , and the t o t a l ca tch was 7 young

males with sl'iort tusks, 1 o ld male .riith a long brolcen tusk, and one

pregnant fernale with a small foetus.

Two of the young males and the old male were caught and

hauled up about 3 miles north of camp schereas al1 the otfiers were k i l l ed

and flensed near Our cmp . EIowever, one of these yomg males sank i n

shal1or;i water and was not recovered mtil August 29, too l a t e f o r

samples t o be obtained. Otherv~ise, reproductive organs, buried teeth,

and body measurements were obtained from a11 the d l a l e s , except

the foet-us of the pregnant female \ h i c h was retained by the U.B.C. group

fo r anatomical study.

lUso on Ai_igust 2 7 , 4 ft?malc narvhal wese k!.l.led near Alfred

Point by hunters fi-om Charlie 1nura?cTs caq3 t o the south. V-iese were

exmi.nec1 and -fl.ensed on ilugust 29. Three of the fema1.e~ were pregriant ,

with small f oetuses . Two tugalosas and both ovar i e s were obtairied

from each ferriale, ancl in addition a l 1 of the foetuseç livre prese-rved.

The t o t a l Qaornak catch amounted t o 13 anirnals duri-ng our s tay t.here.

Figure 1 7 shoi.~s the location of the ~aol-n& camps and the d is t r ibut ion

of the namhal harves t . This small sample of the Inui t catch provides evidence fo r

sex and age segregati-on o:f indi.viduals i i i thin the s r n e r i n g population

of narwhal. From the catch coniposition, it appears t h a t 2 groups of

tqhales ttere i n the v i c i n i t y of Qaornak on August 2 7 , one a g r o q of

mainly young males to the north, and the other a group of mainly pregnant

females t o the south. I t is possible tha t these animals were beginniïlg

t h e i r northward migration t o Tancaster Sound. There may have been

other gro-ups present a s well .

The liunters seem content t o axa i t the r e tu rn northward

migration of the naWhal along the West Coast of Nilne In le t and Eclipse

Sound. h%en na-i-cvhal a r e sightcd near the shore, canoes a re launched and

the nanvhal a r e pursued by the hunters. I t is advantageous to the

hunter t o s tay seax~arcl of the narr\rhal i n shallow water, f o r tvhen the

rvhale dives it can be seen unclenvater and readi ly fo l lo t~ed i n the c~moe.

It'hen the narwllal. surfaces within e f fec t ive firi.ng range, it is shot,

and a t a subsequent surfaci-ng, i f \*rithin rarige, i t is haspooned. nie

s t e e l ha-qoon has a l i n e and seal-skin f l o a t a t tachede A second shot,

i f Iiecess:lry, dispatches the harpooned rvhale. A s k i l l e d h m t e r normally

reyuires oilly 2 or. 3 sllots fo r each rtrhale. k l y one animal sank out-

r i g h t , and it was recovered frcx~i the shallow water 2 days l a t e r .

The dead rchales iiere then hauled ashore and f lensed, al1

rnuktuk and rnuch of t31e dorsal nieat being u t i l i zed . The muktuk was

removed i n 2, giant blankets , one from e i the r s ide of the body. The

underlying blubber waç discarded (except a* l i t t l e f o r kudliks), and

the nieat !:as removed, fo r hanan and canine consumption and possibly

f o r caching as b a i t f o r winter t rap l ines .

Pr ior t o f lensing , t he folloiiiing measurements were obtained

from eacll mimal: body length (frorn t i p of Lrpper jaw t o t a i l notch),

g i r t h i n 3 locations (behind f l ippe r , maxini~m g i r t h , and anal g i r th ) ,

external tusk length and basal diameter, and l a t e r a l spread of flukes.

Colour pa t te rns and other inarkings 14,ere noted, and i n some cases

photographs were taken. Also recorded were locat ion of k i l l , sveather

and ice conditions, and d e t a î l s of the method of capture. IVhen possible,

d e t a i l s of narwhal abundance and d is t r ibut ion slrere noted.

Haul-ed--up namhal were exarnined fo r external pa ras i t e s .

Guring the flensing process, stomachs were opened; none contained

any food items. A l 1 reproductive organs and foetuses iiiere preserved

i n 10% formalin for l a t e r laboratory examination. Reproductive con-

d i t i o n of Iemales was noted ( i . e . - pregnant , l ac t a t ing , e t c .) . A

buried tooth (tugalosa) was col lected from ea.ch animal fi>r aging (2

i n the case of females).

Our observation? of the Qaolriak riarrvhal hunt suggest tha-t

the Inui t hunters prac t ice l i t t l e o r no sc l ec t iv i ty i n shooting ~ i h a l e s ,

dire to the f ac t t ha t i n the heat of the chase the tusk of a iihale

t h a t breachns only fo r a few seconds cannot he secn, given the premise

tha t today's hunt is primarily f o r the ivory, now $19.00 per pou11il t o

the hunter. This lack of s e l e c t i v i t y resirl ts i n an unbiased Inu i t

hames t , and any sample heterogeneity r~ould.ref1ect the behavioural

ancl d i s t r ibu t ion pat terns of the animals. Therefore, females a r e

ce r t a in t o be included i n the catch, and it is therefore possible t o

derive l i fe -h is tory and biological information on namhal from the

Inu i t harvest.

The narcchal h a r v e ~ t e d a t Qaornak svere u t i l i z e d t o a greater

extent than ice had expected, Most or a l 1 of the muktuk f ron these

ariimals was shipped t o the Pond I n l e t freezer f a c i l i t i e s f o r loca l

consumption.

Fjgures 20 and 2 1 present namlial migration routes in

Admiralty I n l e t and Pond I n l e t , respectively. a

a Frorn: Don Bisse t t . 1968. Nortliern Baffin Island: an Area ------- -- Econolnic --+- S u r v ~ . Vol. 2 of the Northern Baffin Island report . Industr ia l Div., Dept. of 'Indian Affa i rs and Northern Devel opment, Ottawa.

TmLE 1

Summary o f High Tide Observa t ions - Cunningham I n l e t

FIigh Tide a A i r temp. OF Avg. water Wind Date Time C.S.T. Time 1-ieight ( f t . ) avg. max. m i n . temp. OF Weather D i r e c t i o n Spcecl (my!

24-07 1600-1752 1710 5 . O l i g h t snow IV s t r o n g

25-07 0500-0640 0530 5.8 32 3 4 o v e r c a s t calm calm

25-07 1630-1800 1715 4.9 36 38 32 4 1 sky broker, N 5

26-07 0434-0810 0525 5 .3 34 36 32 d r i z z l e , f o g hE l i g h t

26-07 1623-2023 1820 4.7 37 38 33 43 broken c loud NE O 7

27-07 0431-0600 0610 4.8 33 37 32 3 8 s c a t t e r e d c l o u 3 N 0 5 I

27-07 1830-2012 1930 4.6 38.5 41 31 brolccn cloucl N N a

28-O$ 1930-2235 2100 4.7 37 44 34 4 3 broken c loud N 05 I

29-07 0242-0340 031Oc 3.4 37 41 slcy c l e a r i n g hl? 04

29-07 2050-0000 2220 5. O 49 52 36 4 6 broken c loud SIV O 6

31-07 2225-0005 2355 5 .6 38 55 36 4 4 f o g , d r i z z l e N 1 4

02-08 2255-0155 0025 5.9 39 55 35 4 3 s c a t t c r e d cloucl cahi calm

03-08 2345-0245 0055 6. O 49 54 39 4 6 broken c l o u d , l i g h t r a i n S 12

03-08 1116-1422 1235 4.6 56 54 46 4 7 broken cloud S 1 3

04-05 2346-0250 0120 6 . 1 46 59 49 4 4 s c a t t e r e d c l o d S 0 7

05-08 1312-1530 1345 4.9 38 49 34 4 5 sky c l e a r i n g N 07

06-08 1336-1530 1415 5. O 39 43 34 4 5 brolten c loud W W II

07-05 1420-1617 1450 5.0 42 42 36 44 o v e r c a s t N O 6

08-08 1440-1630 1530 4.9 45 52 36 44 skv c l e a r i n ~ N 117

a - Heights abovc iowes t normal t i d e from "Canadian T ide and Curren t Tables", Vol.. 4 - A r c t i c and Hudson Bay, 1974 Canadian Hydro,graphic Se rv i ce , O t t a w a . fusecl l'rihlcs f o r r ieso lu te - p. 40) .

h - Tower i n 1 r 17- '

lVatrr Temperature (OC) i n Cunni-nghani Inle t a

Location

Near S.E. corner Mouth of Eepth (n) a t mouth of m a l 1 r i v e r Cunningham River

1 mile north of tower

a Reported by G.S.C. Cunningham camp.

TABLE 3

Curr ent Flow Measrrr ernen t s

Cmrent Speed @rn/sec. )"

Date Location Flooding Tide Ebbing Tide ---- - --Ph

25 - 07 15 f t . E of toïier 1 5 U 15 D i n J' i c l ~ m e l

29 - 07 i n E channel opposite tcwer

29 - 07 W of N t i p of 5 2 D cent ra l sandbar

29 - 07 E of N t i p of central sandbar

a Current di.rection: U - Upstream

D - Domstream

Densi t y of Cunningham Tnlet BeriThos a

2 ( n ~ n b e r of animals/rn )

G r o q v-

South End - N.IY. Corner - D e e ~ Kater A l 1 Stat ions

Polychaetes 5 31 816 71 5 6 07

b!olluscs 651 202 117 32 3

Ec hinoderms 2 O 2 1 14

C-r-us taceans 2 2 7 622

Others 29 6 6

a Denis Tl-iomson and Robert Buchanan, McGill University, persona1 cornunication.

Colour and Size C1.asses of Reluga

Co lour Gr oup s white,

l i g h t 1 ight rnottlcd grey- l i g h t pink- mottled dark blue- dark 1 ight FeY crc~my

SizeISex category brom grey brom brom brown grey grey grey grey doisal ly wl~i te

Smnl ? , slcndcr nconntcs , sriioo th SIC i n , occas . torn X X X siiorcing darker underneath

Sl ight ly larger , f a t t e r neonales, sone scars , X X

I S W ~ Ï I be t t e r

b4 O

Oldcr , larger calves , I

loose t i e with mother, X X X ' X many scars and scratches

Large immatures X X

Very large immatures ncaring sexual inaturity X

Large female with ca l f X X

Vcry large, .ririth curled f l ippers , no calf X (probab l y male)

Figure 1. Aerial view of Cunningham River delta, taken August 9, 1974,

about 2 hours after low tide. The approximate location of

the tower is indicated by X. Photo by R. McClung.

Figure 2. The aluminum up-right scaffold used in observing and

photographing the belugas. Photo by K. Hay.

/f --

Figure 4 .

i i es t Coast Survey o f CUNSINGW,QI INLET SOiIERSET 1 SLAND X.\iT.T. 1515 - 1715 C.S.T. 4 Augus t 1974 (From F R B camp t o GSC camp)

b A s l e c o a c c - -i-&c=

-'ad ; c e E

No hhgies ;r?

59,,320 W 57f?ml 1

c- --- jce P a - ___

I ' i g i n ~ " 11. Bathymetry o f S.W. Devon I s l a n d .

I

M F i g u r e 13. Bathyi~ic t ry o f Northern Somerset I s l and .

u l

FIG. 2 0 ;i3~..<-.-1 ~.:cI-J-$x?T,<s EIIIC! Char F i sh ing Loca L i o i , ~ , &~T~LP-?IL~ 1i313", 1

l 1

NPFLJDIX 1

13irdç obçen~cd i n tllc Cunningham Irilet area, Siunnier 1974.

Conmon e ider

King eider

Glaucous gull.

Herring gu l l

Arct ic t e rn

Long- t a i l e d j aeger

Snosv bunting

Thick-billed murre

Black guillemot

Ivory gU11

American golden plover

Semi-pal-mated sandpiper

Snoky owl

Red-throated loon

Semi-palmated plover

O 1 dsquaw duck

K i t t iv;ake gul 1

Fulmar

Solnateria mollissima -------- Nest rqith 2 wgs in bog neat- camp.

Somateria spec tabi l i s -- - Larus hyperboreus -- -

Sterna paradisaea ---- Nest i n de l t a (1 egg)

P l ec trophenax ni.vali s

Uria lomvia

Pagophila eburnea

Pluvia l i s dominica

Ereunetes pus i l lus

Nyctea scandiacâ w-

Gavia s t e l l a t a

Charadrius semipalmatus

Clangula hyemal is

Rissa t r idac ty la

Fulmarus g lac ia l i s

North shore of Somerse t Island

Tenuous i dent i f ica-Lion

Nest with 4 eggs

Droppings only

Tenuous ident i f icati or

lS%i-te ~chalc

Yarwha 1

Arctic fox

Caribou

Polar bear

Sci ent i : f ic Kane ---------

:e>hi11apterus leucas -

bionodon monocero s

Alopex lagopus

R a i n i :fer a rc t icus -

Thalarctos maritirnus

P i l e s of feces a i ~ d 2 dead lemings in nest

Droppings only

On i ce of i n l e t ancl i n yater ; som p q s

Dark broiin +lue

Tracks on sand i n de l t a - appeared fresh

Ju ly 17; observed by G . S-.C. Cmiingham a t t h e i r camp

- 54 -

APPENDTX 3

bfiscellaneous Faunal Observations, Pond In le t Area, Northei-n Baffin Island

Cormon N ~ J E Sc ien t i f i c Name Renarks

Boxihead

Harp Seal

Bearded Seal

Balaena niysticetus "-- ---- *----- 2 observed near. P is ik tar f ik

Is land, Eclipse Sound, 24 August .

Pago&ilus~roenlandicus -- --. Observed by Qaornak hunters

Observed by Qaornak hunters

Greenland Shark Somniosuç - microcephalus 3 stranded on Qaornak beach, 28 August

Short- tailed. Neasel Mustela ermi~iea

Ringed Seal

Snow Goose

Odobenus rosmarus

Chen hyperborea

Raven Corvus corax

Lapland long spur Cal-car ius 1appc;ni cus

Baffin Island ~rpland near Qaornak

Rare; 1 captured a t Pond I n l e t , 1 5 August; 1 captured a t Qaornak around 20 August

I n l a t e August, f locks migrating south over Qaornak

Several a t Qaornak, l a t e Augus t

Pond I n l e t c o m i t y

APPENDIX 4

rusty hinge

snort

bu r~ ,

chirp

snar l

croak

whistle

squeak

grmt

groan

moo

SasP

trill

baa (lamb-like)

snosi bunting Song

grat ing

bubb 1 ing

Beluga .\rocali zationç

motor boat put t ing

horse bray o r whinny

baby 's cry

l a t t e r p a r t of lecher 's rvhistle (phe~i)

e lephant 's sound

scream

horn

trombone

YaP

mew

nasa l "choak"

gar g l ing

bel1 sound with nasal qua l i ty