The Bowhead Whale

The Bowhead Whale: Balaena mysticetus: Biology and Human Interactions covers bowhead biology from their anatomy and behavior, to conservation, distribution, ecology and evolution. The book also discusses the biological and physical aspects of the Arctic ecosystem in which these whales live, with careful attention paid to the dramatic changes taking place. A special section of the book describes the interactions of humans with bowheads in past and present, focusing on their importance to Indigenous communities and the challenges regarding entanglement in fishing gear, industrial noise and ship strikes.

This volume brings together the knowledge of bowheads in one place for easy reference for scientists that study the species, marine mammal biologists, but, equally important, for everyone who is interested in the Arctic.

Autorentext
John Craighead 'Craig' George Ph.D. is a wildlife biologist who has lived in the Arctic and studied bowhead whales for 40 years. He has published more than 50 scientific papers on the species, on topics ranging from their physiology and reproduction, to their migratory pathways, and their behavior. He is a leading specialist on issues relating to conservation and management of bowhead populations and has served as a member of the US delegation of the International Whaling Commission. He is keenly involved in issues related to subsistence hunting of whales by Indigenous peoples, and the traditional knowledge that these cultures have of whale biology. J. G. M. 'Hans' Thewissen studies the evolution, anatomy and embryology of marine mammals, and has travelled the world to study fossil and living whales. His work with the sense organs of modern whales explores the impact of global change on marine mammal populations. He co-edited the three editions of Elsevier's Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals and wrote a popular book on whale evolution: The Walking Whales.

Klappentext
The Bowhead Whale: Balaena mysticetus: Biology and Human Interactions covers bowhead biology from their anatomy and behavior, to conservation, distribution, ecology and evolution. The book also discusses the biological and physical aspects of the Arctic ecosystem in which these whales live, with careful attention paid to the dramatic changes taking place. A special section of the book describes the interactions of humans with bowheads in past and present, focusing on their importance to Indigenous communities and the challenges regarding entanglement in fishing gear, industrial noise and ship strikes.

This volume brings together the knowledge of bowheads in one place for easy reference for scientists that study the species, marine mammal biologists, but, equally important, for everyone who is interested in the Arctic.

Inhalt

Section I: Basic Biology
1. Higher-Level Phylogeny of Baleen Whales

2. Fossil Record
3. The Stocks of Bowheads
4. Distribution and behavior of Bering-Beaufort-Chukchi bowhead whales as inferred by telemetry
5. Distribution, migrations and ecology of the populations in the Atlantic and the Okhotsk Sea
6. Abundance
7. Life History, Growth, and Form
8. Prenatal Development
9. Anatomy of skull and mandible
10. Postcranial skeleton and musculature
11. Hematology, Serum- , and Urine Composition
12. Anatomy and Physiology of the Gastrointestinal System
13. Female and Male Reproduction
14. Anatomy and Function of Feeding
15. Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Systems
16. Thermoregulation and Energetics
17. Brain
18. Sensory Systems
19. Endocrinology and Blubber Physiology
20. Molecular Insights into the Derived Anatomy and Physiology of Bowhead Whales
21. Age Estimation
22. Acoustic behavior
23. Bowhead whale behavior: Natural and potentially disturbed

24. Ecological Variation in the Western Beaufort Sea

    Section II: The Bowhead Ecosystem
    25. The Physical Oceanographic Setting of Bowhead Whale Habitat

25. Biological Environment of Bowhead Whale Habitats
26. Bowhead whale ecology in changing high-latitude ecosystems
27. Diet and Prey
28. Predators Impacts of Predation

29. Diseases and Parasites

    Section III: Interactions with Humans
    31. Whaling in Indigenous Cultures of the Arctic

30. Current Indigenous Whaling
31. Commercial Whaling in Historical Times
32. The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Research and Management of the Bowhead Whale
33. Effects of noise
34. Fishing gear Entanglement and Vessel Collisions
35. Contaminants
36. Conservation and Management
37. Past, Present, and Future