Stable isotope analysis of 1987-1991 zooplankton samples and bowhead whale tissues. Final report

Technical Report · Mon Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992

OSTI ID:6698821

Schell, D M

Stable isotope analyses of bowhead whale tissue samples and bowhead whale prey organisms collected over the years 1987 to 1991 were used to provide detail on the isotope ratio gradients evident in the arctic Alaskan zooplankton and to verify previous findings regarding the growth rates and age determination techniques developed for bowhead whales. Zooplankton of the Bering and Chukchi seas are enriched in (13)C relative to the eastern Beaufort Sea. The analysis of baleen from bowhead whales taken between 1987 to 1990 indicate that the whales are slow-growing and the young animals between year one and about six to seven years of age, undergo a period of little or no linear growth. The authors estimate that bowheads require 16-18 years to reach the length of sexual maturity, i.e., 13-14 m. From baleen Delta(13C) cycles, a 20 year record of the isotope ratios in the phytoplankton of the northern Bering and Chukchi seas was constructed. The long-term record has been compared with the temperature anomalies in surface waters of the Bering Sea. The Delta(13C) of the zooplankton is inversely correlated with temperature and refutes current models attempting to relate ocean temperature, and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels with the Delta(13C) of ocean sediment organic matter.

• Research Organization: Alaska Univ., Fairbanks, AK (United States). Inst. of Marine Science
• OSTI ID: 6698821
• Report Number(s): PB-93-135879/XAB; CNN: DI-14-35-0001-30472
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540310* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (1990-)
AGE DEPENDENCE
ALASKA
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ARCTIC OCEAN
ARCTIC REGIONS
ARTHROPODS
BEAUFORT SEA
BERING SEA
BIOLOGY
BODY
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON ISOTOPES
CARBON OXIDES
CETACEANS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHUKCHI SEA
COPEPODS
CRUSTACEANS
DATA
DETECTION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DIMENSIONS
ECOSYSTEMS
FOOD CHAINS
GROWTH
INFORMATION
INVERTEBRATES
ISOTOPE RATIO
ISOTOPES
LENGTH
MAMMALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MATTER
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC MATTER
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PACIFIC OCEAN
PHYTOPLANKTON
PLANKTON
PLANTS
POLAR REGIONS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SAMPLING
SEAS
SEDIMENTS
SEX DEPENDENCE
STATISTICAL DATA
SURFACE WATERS
TISSUES
USA
VERTEBRATES
ZOOPLANKTON