The Smaller Cetacea of Eastern Canadian Waters

Abstract

An account is given of the known records, distribution and migrations of the smaller Odontocete whales occurring in eastern Canadian waters, with measurements of specimens obtained of the rarer species. The distribution of the abundant pilot whale Globicephala melaena (Traill) has been studied in most detail. The species' summer range includes both the offshore waters of the Labrador Sea and the coastal waters around Newfoundland. The coastal population feeds only on the squid Illex illecebrosus (LeSueur) and its movements inshore in spring and offshore in autumn follow those of the squid over the southwest Grand Bank. In some years a failure of the squid to move shorewards results in a failure of the fisheries for both squid and pilot whales in Newfoundland. The species is known to winter in an oceanic area southeast of the Grand Bank.The white-sided dolphin Lagenorhynchus acutus Gray associates with the pilot whale and apparently inhabits the same climatic zone in these waters, while the white-beaked dolphin L. albirostris Gray is found in somewhat colder waters. The killer whale Grampus orca (L.) migrates northwards in spring along the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts, its migration coinciding with that of the rorquals.New records for the waters of eastern Canada, extending the known range of each, are given for Mesoplodon bidens, Tursiops truncatus, Lagenorhynchus albirostris and Lagenorhynchus acutus.

Growth of the harbour porpoise (<i>Phocoena phocoena</i>) in eastern Newfoundland, Canada

“…Comparable data for porpoise from Newfoundland are limited; Sergeant and Fisher (1957) reported a 127 cm male while Sergeant et al (1970) examined two porpoises, a female weighing 50 kg and a juvenile of unidentified gender at 18 kg. A porpoise, 79 cm long and 7.7 kg was found in the stomach of a Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus, caught on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland (Williamson 1963).…”

“…Fontaine et al 1994, Kingsley andReeves 1998), information on the Newfoundland population is extremely limited. Sergeant and Fisher (1957) describe harbour porpoise distribution around Newfoundland and Labrador, while morphological data are limited to lengths and weights of a small number of samples (Sergeant and Fisher 1957, Williamson 1963, Sergeant et al 1970. To date, no harbour porpoise abundance surveys have been conducted in Newfoundland waters.…”

New records of postglacial walrus and a review of Quaternary marine mammals in New Brunswick

“…Although there is a Popelogan River in Restigouche County, northern New Brunswick he was referring to the Pocologan River in southern New Brunswick. The white whale occurs in eastern arctic waters from Ellsmere Island through Davis Strait to James Bay, along the (Fisher and Sergeant, 1954), probably an offshoot of the St. Lawrence River population (Sergeant and Fisher, 1957 Dawson, p. 268. 1905 Delphinapterus leucas Pallas; Lambe, p. 39.…”

“…Sergeant and Fisher (1957) suggested that belugas may stray from the St. Lawrence River population. Although harp seals are not known to breed in the Bay of Fundy, rare occurrences are known (McAlpine and Walker, in press).…”

Sex Determination of the Ommastrephid Squid Illex illecebrosus Using Beak Morphometries

“…THE ommastrephid squid Illex illecebros~~s, a summer migrant to inshore Newfoundland waters, is an important prey item for many species of whales (Sergeant 1962;Sergeant and Fisher 1957;Squires 1957), seabirds (Ennis and Collins 1978). and for many species of fish (Vinogradov 1 972;Butler 197 1 ;Squires 1957;Templeman 1944).…”