Summer and autumn movements of white whales Delphinapterus leucas in Svalbard, Norway

Fifteen adult white whales Delphinapterus leucas were fitted with satellite relay data loggers (SRDLs) in order to study their distribution and moveme nt patterns in Svalbard. A total of 844 d of tracking data was recorded. Th e average longevity of the SRDLs was 56 +/- 30 (SD) d (range 7 to 120 d). T he tracking data were analysed using a computer visualisation system, which allowed the movement patterns to be animated against a background map of t he study area. This enabled classification of the whales' tracking data int o 4 major activity patterns: (1) glacier front stationary (55.6 % of the ti me), (2) in-fjord movements (10.6 % of the time), (3) coastal movements (26 .0 % of the time), and (4) coastal stationary (7.8 % of the time), The whal es spent most of their time relatively stationary, close to different glaci er fronts in the area. These areas are known to have a high abundance of po tential prey species for white whales, so foraging is the probable reason f or this behaviour. When the whales changed location, they did so in an appa rently directed and rapid manner., Average horizontal swimming speed was at least 6 km h(-1) during long-distance movements. Movements between glacier fronts were extremely coastal in nature and took place in shallow waters. This behaviour has probably developed as a means of avoiding predators.