Section I: Basic biology: Higher level phylogeny of baleen whales -- Fossil record -- The stocks of bowheads -- Distribution and behavior of Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort bowhead whales as inferred by telemetry -- Distribution, migrations, and ecology of the Atlantic and the Okhotsk Sea populations -- Abundance -- Life history, growth, and form -- Prenatal development -- Anatomy of skull and mandible -- Postcranial skeleton and musculature -- Hematology, serum, and urin composition -- Anatomy and physiology of the gastrointestinal system -- Female and male reproduction -- Anatomy and function of feeding -- Cardiovascular and pulmonary systems -- Thermoregulation and energetics -- Brain -- Sensory systems -- Endocrinology and blubber physiology -- Molecular insights into anatomy and physiology -- Age estimation -- Acoustic behavior -- Natural and potentially disturbed behavior of bowhead whales -- Ecological variation in the western Beaufort Sea.

Section II: The bowhead ecosystem: Physical oceanography -- Biological environment -- Bowhead whale ecology in changing high-latitude ecosystems -- Diet and prey -- Predators and impacts of predation -- Diseases and parasites.

Section III: Interactions with humans: Whale hunting in Indigenous Arctic cultures -- Current indigenous whaling -- Commercial whaling -- Indigenous knowledge in research and management -- Effects of noise -- Fishing gear entanglement and vessel collisions -- Contaminants -- Conservation and management -- Past, present, and future.