Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- Introduction -- Physical environment of the Bering Sea population -- Evolutionary relationships and classification -- Anatomy and physiology -- Behavior -- Foods and feeding ecology -- Reproduction -- Morbidity and mortality -- Distribution and movement -- Stock sizes prior to commercial whaling -- Current population size and dynamics -- Feeding and growth as indicated by stable isotopes -- Commercial whaling in the North Atlantic sector -- Commercial whaling in the North Pacific sector -- Subsistence whaling -- Man-made noise and behavioral responses -- Presence and potential effects of contaminants -- Epilogue -- Geographic index -- General index. This book is intended to be a cohesive species account of the bowhead whale. Chapters detail the Bering Sea population, evolutionary relationships and classification, anatomy and physiology, behavior, foods and feeding ecology, reproduction, morbidity and mortality, distribution and movement, population size and dynamics, commercial whaling, subsistence whaling, and the influence of man and his activities.