POPs in long-finned pilot whales mass stranded in Iceland as a proxy for their physiological condition.

Long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) are the most frequently stranded cetaceans in the world; however, the predominant drivers of these events are poorly understood. In this study the levels of persistent organic pollutants from pilot whales stranded in North-east Iceland were quantified and compared to historical data and physical parameters to investigate whether contaminant load may have influenced the physiological state of stranded individuals, how these loads fluctuate with sex and age group, and if this is consistent with the literature. Historical comparison was also carried out to discern how pollutant contamination has changed throughout the past few decades.

Subarctic singers: Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song structure and progression from an Icelandic feeding ground during winter.

Humpback whale songs associated with breeding behaviors are increasingly reported outside of traditional low latitude breeding grounds. Songs from a subarctic feeding ground during the winter were quantitatively characterized to investigate the structure and temporal changes of the songs at such an atypical location. Recordings were collected from 26.

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song unit and phrase repertoire progression on a subarctic feeding ground.

The songs of the male humpback whales have traditionally been associated with breeding activities at low latitude breeding grounds during winter. This study provides the first detailed analysis of humpback whale songs recorded in the subarctic waters of Iceland using passive acoustic recorders. Recordings were collected during three winter seasons: 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2011 during which singing was detected in all seasons.

Trouble-shooting deployment and recovery options for various stationary passive acoustic monitoring devices in both shallow- and deep-water applications.

Deployment of any type of measuring device into the ocean, whether to shallow or deeper depths, is accompanied by the hope that this equipment and associated data will be recovered. The ocean is harsh on gear. Salt water corrodes.