William D. Halliday

Seasonal patterns in marine mammal vocalizations in the western Canadian Arctic

The Arctic marine environment is changing rapidly through a combination of sea ice loss and increased anthropogenic activity. Given that these changes can affect marine animals in a variety of ways, understanding the spatial and temporal distributions of Arctic marine animals is imperative. Here, we use passive acoustic monitoring to examine the presence of marine mammals in the western Canadian Arctic, where we have had recorders deployed near the communities of Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada. At both sites, we documented bowhead and beluga whales during the ice-free season, bearded seals throughout the ice-covered season and during their mating season, and ringed seals throughout the year. The sites also had different patterns in marine mammal presence, where we found whales later into the year at Ulukhaktok than at Sachs Harbour, and ringed seals vocalized much more at Ulukhaktok than at Sachs Harbour. These patterns in vocal activity at both sites help to document the presence of each species in the western Canadian Arctic, and serve as a baseline for future monitoring in the region. Next steps in this project involve deploying at more sites throughout the region to more comprehensively monitor marine mammals in the region.

Assessing vessel slowdown as an option for reducing acoustic masking for Arctic cod in the western Canadian Arctic

Noise from this shipping traffic can lead to acoustic masking, reducing the ability of marine animals to detect and use biologically important sounds. Vessel-slow down may be an alternative mitigation option in regions where re-routing shipping corridors to avoid important habitat for fish and marine mammals is not possible. We investigated the potential relief in masking from a 10 knot speed reduction of container and cruise ships. Based on ambient sound measurements and real shipping data, the percentage reduction in the available listening space for fish as a container or cruise ship passes under varying speeds and ambient sound conditions was shown. The mitigation effects from slower vessels (travelling at 15 knots compared to 25 knots), in terms of auditory masking, was equal between ambient sound conditions, but not equal between the type of vessel. Slowing vessels led to a substantial decrease in the listening space reductions, with the amount of reduction varying by distance away from vessels. Vessel slowdown through sensitive habitat could be an effective mitigation strategy for reducing the extent of auditory masking.Noise from this shipping traffic can lead to acoustic masking, reducing the ability of marine animals to detect and use biologically important sounds. Vessel-slow down may be an alternative mitigation option in regions where re-routing shipping corridors to avoid important habitat for fish and marine mammals is not possible. We investigated the potential relief in masking from a 10 knot speed reduction of container and cruise ships. Based on ambient sound measurements and real shipping data, the percentage reduction in the available listening space for fish as a container or cruise ship passes under varying speeds and ambient sound conditions was shown. The mitigation effects from slower vessels (travelling at 15 knots compared to 25 knots), in terms of auditory masking, was equal between ambient sound conditions, but not equal between the type of vessel. Slowing vessels led to a substantial decrease in the listening space reductions, with the amount of reduction varying by distance away from vessels. Ves...

A Field Guide to Insects of the Pacific Northwest by Robert Cannings, 2018. [book review]

this field guide is a handy little pamphlet that interested naturalists can easily bring anywhere with them to help identify common insects around the Pacific northwest. the field guide starts with a small amount of information about what an insect is, how insects grow, and why insects are important. It has attractive macro photos of 55 species (although the publisher’s website [Harbour Publishing 2018] says there are more than 60) organized in 19 taxonomic orders. A very short description of the spe cies (or sometimes, of the order) next to each image provides a bit of background about the species. Its glossy, laminated finish would stand up to some light precipitation, but would not last in any significant rain. this field guide is clearly targetted to wards amateur naturalists interested in learning some of the basics about insect ecology and identification in the Pacific northwest and, from that perspective, it is excellent. the author, Dr. Robert Cannings, is Curator Emeritus of Entomology at the Royal British Columbia Museum, where he has been studying insects since 1980. His main interests are in dragonflies and robber flies; he wrote the handbook to dragonflies of British Columbia (Cannings and Stuart 1977). Given its target audience, this is not an exhaustive field guide. It lists between one and nine species for each taxonomic order; five taxonomic orders with rare or hard to see species were not included. According to the publisher’s website, the species that were chosen are common but not familiar, the goal being to introduce amateur naturalists to the diversity of insects within the region. From this perspective, the author did an excellent job choosing insects, focussing on interesting na tive species that an amateur naturalist is likely to come across if they were actively looking for insects. For example, within the order Hymenoptera (Sawflies, Wasps, Bees, and Ants), the guide lists the Western Bumble Bee (Bombus occidentalis) and Blue orchard Bee (Osmia lignaria), but not the Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera), even though most members of the public would think of a honey bee when they think about bees. the guide focusses on the wonderful native bees of the region rather than listing the well known, yet introduced, Western Honey Bee. While this guide is an excellent introduction to the diversity of insects in the Pacific northwest, it does not contain the information that is typically expected from a field guide. nonetheless, it is a good resource for amateur naturalists interested in learning about the insects in this region.

Publication Trends in The Canadian Field-Naturalist , 1980–2015

I examined publication trends for The Canadian Field-Naturalist (CFN) between 1980 and 2015 to determine whether a general decrease in natural history studies has been affecting CFN. I also establish a baseline of the types of authors that publish in CFN, and the types of studies that are typically published. Fewer but longer articles are being published every year. More authors per article with greater collaboration are publishing every year. The majority of authors are Canadian, but a large number of authors are from the USA. The majority of studies focus on vertebrates, and most of these focus on mammals, followed by birds, and then fish. Articles on basic biology are most common, although articles on conservation and species’ geographic ranges are also common. CFN remains an important outlet for basic biology and conservation studies, and despite the decreasing trends in the number of articles published per year, CFN will likely remain a keystone publication for natural history in Canada.