Download or read book Eastern Beaufort Sea Beluga Whales written by Canada. Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Central and Arctic Region and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Exploration of Grouping Characteristics and Spatial Distribution of Beluga Whales Delphinapterus Leucas in the Eastern Beaufort Sea written by Alexandra Mayette and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are considered social whales, but like any other cetaceans, the study of social behaviour is challenging to conduct. Due to the wide distribution of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whale population across its summering grounds, little is known about the large-scale grouping behaviour and spatial distribution of groups. The aim of this research is to explore the grouping characteristics and organization of beluga groups, as well as the habitat preference of different social groups in summer. First, we used aerial photographs captured in July 2019 to describe group size, age composition, inter-individual distance, and swimming direction of beluga groups. We compared characteristics between two key summer habitats: the extended offshore of the Beaufort Sea shelf and the inshore of the Mackenzie Estuary. Results showed that group size and inter-individual distance were similar in both habitats. The average distance in a group varied with age composition and the swimming direction varied between the offshore and inshore. Second, we used GPS locations of beluga sightings recorded by visual observers during aerial surveys conducted in July and August 2019. We investigated the distribution of three beluga social group types (individual belugas, groups of adults, and groups with calf) using hierarchical generalized additive models. The sea surface temperature, bathymetry, and slope described best the summer distribution. Areas of high preference were often associated with prey distribution, suggesting foraging as the main driver of habitat preference. We also hypothesized that body size energy requirements contributed to the variation between the group types. This study revealed for the first-time observations of grouping behaviour in the summer habitat of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whales. Although the results do not reflect the extent and complexity of beluga social behaviour, this study now provides an information baseline for this beluga population. We also encourage multidisciplinary research as an opportunity to further collect data and explore other elements of beluga whale sociality.

Download or read book Beluga Whales written by Anthony R. Martin and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dr Anthony Martin is a biologist and in this book he explores what we know about the beluga or white whale, and relates to the reader what research is currently being carried out on this species.

Download or read book Proceedings of a Workshop on Beaufort Sea Beluga written by Wayne S. Duval and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Workshop held to examine the status of the stock of beluga whales that summer in the Beaufort Sea; to identify the best methods for the continued monitoring of the stock in response to human activities and environmental changes; and to define research priorities for the future. This document describes the structure of the workshop and its goals; gives background information on models; summarizes the subgroup discussions on stock status and population estimates and on continuing assessment; and discusses funding priorities, including the need for satellite tagging and aerial surveys.

Download or read book Advances in Research on the Beluga Whale Delphinapterus Leucas written by Thomas G. Smith and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collection of 14 articles representing a cross-section of current research on beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas, in North American waters.

Download or read book Seasonal Movement and Habitat Use of Beluga Whales in the Canadian Beaufort Sea written by Claire Hornby (Alexandra) and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Distribution and Movements of Beluga Whales from the Eastern Chukchi Sea Stock During Summer and Early Autumn written by Robert Suydam and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-06-26 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report includes data from two efforts to satellite tag beluga whales. The first was conducted by the Alaska Beluga Whale Committee (ABWC) through NOAA grant NA67FX0197, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the North Slope Borough (NSB), and the Village of Point Lay. This was the first time belugas in Alaska were instrumented with satellite tags. Ten belugas were tagged in 1998-1999. The second took place in 2000-2002. It was initiated by the ABWC and further supported by Minerals Management Service (MMS) through the Coastal Marine Institute. Other cooperators included NMFS, ADF&G, the NSB, the Village of Point Lay, and Alaska Marine Ecosystems Research.

Download or read book Beluga Whale Distribution Migration and Behavior in a Changing Pacific Arctic written by Donna D. W. Hauser and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sea ice is disappearing at unprecedented rates in the Pacific Arctic with potential impacts to ice-associated marine predators that migrate to this seasonally accessible and productive ecosystem. In this dissertation I used satellite telemetry data spanning 1993-2012 collected from two migratory populations of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the Pacific Arctic (i.e., Eastern Chukchi Sea and Eastern Beaufort Sea populations) to investigate how loss of sea ice and changes in other environmental factors affect distribution, movement, and behavior. I quantified fidelity to summer areas, sexual segregation, and migration timing as well as variations in diving behavior among regions. These analyses illustrate that population-scale patterns of philopatry, migration, and foraging are mediated by the combined effects of seasonal sea ice and oceanographic fluctuations, prey distribution, and social interactions. I also addressed the question of whether belugas would adjust their distribution, migration, and behavior to shifting sea ice conditions and to what extent matrilineally-learned behavior might supersede environmental forcing through the development of resource selection functions. Results indicate that sea ice is a contributing factor but not sole determinant of beluga habitat preferences. One population (Eastern Chukchi Sea) exhibits delayed fall migration in response to later sea ice freeze-up. Changing environmental conditions also seem to favor deeper, longer dives for this population. There were few overall differences in preferred habitat selection during 1990-2014, and summer distribution appears to be governed by philopatry rather than ice conditions. These results correspond to a conclusion that Eastern Chukchi Sea belugas are responding to a changing Pacific Arctic environment through behavioral plasticity in migration timing and foraging behavior. In contrast, there were few examples where migration timing or sea ice associations of Eastern Beaufort Sea belugas changed between the 1990s and 2000s. Taken as a whole, these results suggest population-specific responses by belugas in the face of fluctuating sea ice conditions. Across the circumpolar Arctic, some beluga populations may be more likely than others to adapt and persist in a changing climate.

Download or read book Beluga Whales in the Beaufort Sea maps written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Passive Acoustic Monitoring to Identify Drivers of Beluga Whale Habitat Use in the Mackenzie Estuary written by Kevin Scharffenberg and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding drivers of habitat use of mobile species is critical for understanding the impacts of climate change and formulating management plans. Eastern Beaufort Sea (EBS) beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), an important subsistence food source for Inuvialuit, are known to form large aggregations in the Mackenzie Estuary each summer; however, environmental drivers of this habitat use are not understood. Passive acoustic monitoring was used to record beluga presence during this aggregation at key locations in the Mackenzie Estuary, while simultaneously recording environmental and oceanographic data. Belugas moved further into the estuary during cold oceanic influxes and did not use locations which typically see high use during high-speed winds. In an extreme case, a large storm prevented belugas from using the area for five days and negatively affected the subsistence beluga hunt. This information can inform decisions by northern communities and policy makers, aiding in management of the EBS beluga population.

Download or read book Study of Summer and Fall Movements and Dive Behaviour of Beaufort Sea Belugas Using Satellite Telemetry 1992 1995 written by P. R. Richard and published by Environmental Studies Research Funds. This book was released on 1997 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Beluga Whale Habitat Selection and Distribution in the Mackenzie Estuary and the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area written by Aurelie Noel and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Eastern Beaufort Sea (EBS) beluga population migrates to the Mackenzie Estuary and to the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area every summer and the reasons behind this selection are not fully understood. Once in the Estuary, beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are harvested by Inuvialuit communities of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region for whom they represent an essential country food, contributing to their well-being. In the last decade, community members voiced their concerns and identified research priorities pertaining to belugas resources, baselines and habitats. To enhance our understanding of EBS beluga whale habitat and further anticipate effects of a changing climate, it was crucial to understand why belugas select these habitats. We created a habitat model based on aerial surveys observations from the late summer 2019 paired with remote sensing imagery to establish a baseline of environmental and spatial conditions selected by belugas. Then we assessed the baseline against historical data. We finally evaluated the habitat model with concurrent tagged observations to integrate the inferences made at a larger spatio-temporal scale. High turbidity and warm water temperatures were the two most important factors explaining beluga presence and were associated with the inshore waters of the Mackenzie River channels and along unprotected coastlines. Comparisons with past observations suggested that the observed beluga distribution had shifted from the baseline and was probably the results of the influence of changing environmental conditions on beluga response, either on a temporary (i.e., acclimatisation) or permanent basis (i.e., adaptation). The evaluation of the habitat model showed mixed results. The inferences of selection, created in combining quality of environmental conditions and belugas mechanisms of selection, explained the intertwined patterns of beluga habitat distribution. Those findings enhanced our understanding of EBS beluga ecology and highlighted the complexity in defining and predicting beluga habitat distribution. This complexity, by preventing an accurate assessment of the changing beluga habitat distribution, represents new challenges for harvesters that who may have to switch the timing and location of their harvest in response.

Download or read book Proceedings of the RAP Meeting on Eastern Beaufort Sea Beluga written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 10 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These proceedings report on a meeting that evaluated the status of beluga in the eastern Beaufort Sea, with particular attention to the issue of stock abundance. Other topics discussed include species biology, the beluga hunt, uncertainty in stock estimates & sources of uncertainty, and effects of contaminants & disease on the beluga population.

Download or read book Beaufort Sea Beluga Whales written by Lisa Lucia Loseto and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Mercury (Hg) levels in the Beaufort Sea beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) population have been increasing since the 1990's. Ultimately, it is the Hg content of prey that determines beluga Hg levels. However, the Beaufort Sea beluga diet is not understood, and little is known about the food webs and Hg sources in their summer habitat. Using satellite telemetry data, the Beaufort Sea Beluga were found to segregate into habitat use groups, by length, sex and reproductive status. Segregation of habitat use lead to the hypothesis that beluga may feed differently, explaining Hg dietary sources. Mercury levels were measured in three food webs in the western Canadian Arctic to assess their dietary Hg contribution. Results revealed that potential beluga prey had variable Hg concentrations. With the use of the diet biomarkers stable isotopes and fatty acids in both prey items and beluga, the beluga diet was evaluated by incorporating beluga biological variables such as age, length, sex and harvest location. Here, we show the factors driving beluga diet variability lead to differences in dietary Hg uptake. Diet variability within the Beaufort Sea beluga was evident, whereby larger beluga appeared to feed predominantly on offshore arctic cod (Boreogadus Saida), and medium and smaller sized beluga incorporated more near-shore fish collected from the Mackenzie shelf. The variation in beluga diet was supported by the differences in Hg concentrations and 815N values in both prey and beluga. For the first time, we demonstrate that food web Hg biomagnification processes drive beluga muscle Hg levels, rather than Hg bioaccumulation over time. This conclusion revealed that dietary Hg levels varied with habitat use, where the shelf was low source of Hg and the offshore was a high source. Therefor, incorporating beluga habitat use along with food web complexity was important in determining the factors driving beluga Hg levels. These observations lend support to the possibility that the high levels of Hg leaving the Mackenzie River only become bioavailability for food web uptake once entering offshore habitats"--Leaves [i]-ii.

Download or read book Beaufort Sea Beluga Whales written by Lisa Lucia Loseto and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Mercury (Hg) levels in the Beaufort Sea beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) population have been increasing since the 1990's. Ultimately, it is the Hg content of prey that determines beluga Hg levels. However, the Beaufort Sea beluga diet is not understood, and little is known about the food webs and Hg sources in their summer habitat. Using satellite telemetry data, the Beaufort Sea Beluga were found to segregate into habitat use groups, by length, sex and reproductive status. Segregation of habitat use lead to the hypothesis that beluga may feed differently, explaining Hg dietary sources. Mercury levels were measured in three food webs in the western Canadian Arctic to assess their dietary Hg contribution. Results revealed that potential beluga prey had variable Hg concentrations. With the use of the diet biomarkers stable isotopes and fatty acids in both prey items and beluga, the beluga diet was evaluated by incorporating beluga biological variables such as age, length, sex and harvest location. Here, we show the factors driving beluga diet variability lead to differences in dietary Hg uptake. Diet variability within the Beaufort Sea beluga was evident, whereby larger beluga appeared to feed predominantly on offshore arctic cod (Boreogadus Saida), and medium and smaller sized beluga incorporated more near-shore fish collected from the Mackenzie shelf. The variation in beluga diet was supported by the differences in Hg concentrations and 815N values in both prey and beluga. For the first time, we demonstrate that food web Hg biomagnification processes drive beluga muscle Hg levels, rather than Hg bioaccumulation over time. This conclusion revealed that dietary Hg levels varied with habitat use, where the shelf was low source of Hg and the offshore was a high source. Therefor, incorporating beluga habitat use along with food web complexity was important in determining the factors driving beluga Hg levels. These observations lend support to the possibility that the high levels of Hg leaving the Mackenzie River only become bioavailability for food web uptake once entering offshore habitats"--Leaves [i]-ii

Download or read book Proceedings of the RAP Meeting on Eastern Beaufort Sea Beluga written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Persons attending the RAP meeting are listed in Annex 1. The co-chairs provided an overview of the Regional Advisory Process in the Central and Arctic region, the documents on the table for review, and the general principles for the meeting discussion. [...] The agenda was approved, taking into account that certain portions of the draft SSR would be reviewed out of sequence, due to editorial consideration (some portions of the report were identified by the co- chairs as belonging in other sections and some sections were missing from the draft). [...] The remainder of this document presents the main elements of discussion on a section by section basis, in the general order of the agenda. [...] It was also pointed out that, contrary to the statement that the largest whale in the pod is selected as the target animal, the more common adult sized whales ("average size") were usually targeted in the hunt. [...] It was identified that a section describing the season of the hunt was missing and that a Table which illustrated the numbers of landed animals for each community over time was also needed in the report.

Download or read book The Pacific Arctic Region written by Jacqueline M. Grebmeier and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-06-10 with total page 461 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pacific Arctic region is experiencing rapid sea ice retreat, seawater warming, ocean acidification and biological response. Physical and biogeochemical modeling indicates the potential for step-function changes to the overall marine ecosystem. This synthesis book was coordinated within the Pacific Arctic Group, a network of international partners working in the Pacific Arctic. Chapter topics range from atmospheric and physical sciences to chemical processing and biological response to changing environmental conditions. Physical and biogeochemical modeling results highlight the need for data collection and interdisciplinary modeling activities to track and forecast the changing ecosystem of the Pacific Arctic with climate change.