Aerial surveys in June and July, 1978 and 1979, documented an unexpectedly large population (at least 417 O O O) of ringed seals, some with pups, inhabiting the pack ice of Baffin Bay. Pack-ice seals are smaller than their fast-ice counterparts and have a different diet and gut parasite load. Age and reproductive data, although limited, indicate that the offshore seals are a normal breeding population, Pack-ice seals probably mix with fast-ice seals in coastal areas during the brief open-water season but morphological and ecological differences suggest that the populations are reproductively isolated. This study prompts reconsideration of the importance of offshore pack ice to ringed seals and, therefore, to the coastal hunting economy of Inuit in Greenland and Baffn Island.

This paper compares the behavior of bowhead whales of the Davis Strait/ Baffin Bay stock, as observed along the east coast of Baffin Island in [1979][1980][1981][1982][1983][1984][1985][1986], with behavior of the Bering/Chukchi/Beaufort Sea stock observed in the Beaufort Sea in 1980-1986. All data used here were collected during late summer and early autumn in the absence of acute human disturbance. The behavioral repertoires of the two populations were similar. However, quantitative differences were found for whales engaged in all three activities studied: (1) Bowheads feeding in deep water off Isabella Bay, Baffin Island, had longer dives and surfacings, on average, than noted for bowheads feeding in the Beaufort Sea.(2) Among whales socializing in shallow water, we saw sexual interactions more often at Isabella Bay than in the Beaufort Sea. Calls emitted by socializing whales off Baffin Island were similar to those heard in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. However, pulsed tonal calls were longer off Baffin Island, and previously undescribed mechanical "crunch" sounds were recorded there near socializing bowheads. (3) During autumn migration, "fluke-out" dives were less common, and dive durations were longer, in the Beaufort Sea than off Baffin Island (P

Aerial surveys in 1980-84 showed that summer distribution of bowheads in the Beaufort Sea varied markedly between years. Distribution varied both outside and within the "main industrial area" (MIA), the area of island construction, drilling and intensive ship and helicopter traffic. Numbers of bowheads in the MIA were high in 1980, lower in 1981, near zero in 1982 and very low in 1983-84. The few whales in the MIA in 1983-84 were mainly near its edges, contrary to 1980-8 1. These data, plus limited evidence from 1976-79, indicate that bowheads were numerous in the centre of the MIA in 3 of 5 years from 1976-80 (1976-77, 1980) vs. O of 4 years from 1981-84. One hypothesis is that progressively increasing industrial activities affected bowhead distribution after 1980. However, bowheads probably also react to variations in their zooplankton prey, which may be affected by year-to-year changes in oceanography and weather. Influences of natural factors on zooplankton and bowheads need to be better understood in order to assess whether oil exploration caused any of the observed changes in bowhead distribution.

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