AN INDEX OF THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF WINTERING BELUGAS, DELPHINAPTERUS-LEUCAS, AND NARWHALS, MONODON-MONOCEROS, OFF WEST GREENLAND

Systematic aerial surveys of the wintering grounds of belugas, Delphin apterus leucas, and narwhals, Monodon monoceros, in southern Baffin Ba y and northern Davis Strait were conducted in late winter of 1981 , 19 82, 1990, and 1991. Most belugas were found between 67-degrees-N and 6 9-degrees-N and none were seen more than 80 km off the coast of West G reenland. Compared with the surveys in 1981 and 1982, a decline in rel ative abundance of belugas along West Greenland was evident in 1991. T his decline was significant at a probability level of 0.13 of the boot -strapped distribution of the combined abundance estimate, Pod sizes d eclined significantly between the 1981-82 and 1990-91 surveys. The var iations in ice conditions between years did not seem to affect the dis tribution, clumping, or pod sizes of the belugas. Narwhals were widely distributed in the close pack ice offshore between 65-degrees-N and 7 2-degrees-N. Along the west Greenland coast, narwhals were primarily s een at the mouth of Disko Bay. No change in relative abundance or pod sizes could be detected for narwhals.