Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), environmental change and marine protected areas in the Western Canadian Arctic

Loseto, Lisa L.; Hoover, Carie; Ostertag, Sonja K.; Whalen, Dustin; Pearce, Tristan; Paulic, Joclyn E.; Iacozza, John; MacPhee, Shannon A.

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2018.05.026

Cited by 25 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Beluga whales only occupy the estuary between June and August, and much of this ecosystem is frozen down to the sediment in the winter, making it uninhabitable for most marine vertebrates. However, climate change is causing ice to break up earlier in the spring and form later into the autumn (Markus et al 2009;Loseto et al 2018), which could mean that the summer soundscape described here may occur for longer periods of the year in the future. The changing climate may also lead to shifts in species composition.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The summer soundscape of a shallow-water estuary used by beluga whales in the western Canadian Arctic

et al. 2020

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The soundscape is an important habitat component for marine animals. In the Arctic, marine conditions are changing rapidly due to sea ice loss and increased anthropogenic activities such as shipping, which will influence the soundscape. Here, we assess the contributors to the summer soundscape in the shallow waters of the Mackenzie River estuary within the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area in the western Canadian Arctic, a core summering habitat for beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas Pallas, 1776). We collected passive acoustic data during the summer over four years, and assessed the influence of physical variables, beluga whale vocalizations, and boat noise on sound pressure levels in three frequency bands (low: 0.2-1 kHz; medium: 1-10 kHz; high: 10-48 kHz) to quantify the soundscape. Wind speed, wave height, beluga vocalizations, and boat noise were all large contributors to the soundscape in various frequency bands. The soundscape varied to a lesser degree between sites, time of day, and with tide height, but remained relatively constant between years. This study is the first detailed description of a shallow summer soundscape in the western Canadian Arctic, an important habitat for beluga whales, and can be used as a baseline to monitor future changes during this season.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The summer soundscape of a shallow-water estuary used by beluga whales in the western Canadian Arctic

et al. 2020

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“…2016) in addition to the Tarium Niryutait, TNMPA, (est. 2010) (Figure 1, Loseto et al, 2018). The TNMPA is an important summer habitat for the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga and a diverse range of fish species.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ISR boundary is shown in solid gray. Reproduced from Loseto et al (2018) with permission from Elsevier.…”

Section: Observed Changes In Forage and Subsistence Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Environmental drivers related to seasonal loss of sea ice and water temperature have led to changes in the distribution of ice-dependent or ice-associated marine mammals and birds and initiated changes in migratory pathways and phenologies of mammals and fish, causing changes in species composition and season of harvests. Some coastal communities are impacted as availabilities of subsistence species are changing or have changed or moved beyond the geographic reach of harvesters (Loseto et al, 2018). Access complications are also linked to changes in weather, storms and sea state (e.g., Steiner et al, 2015a) which have made the sea rougher, less predictable and more dangerous for small boat travel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of the Changing Ocean-Sea Ice System on the Key Forage Fish Arctic Cod (Boreogadus Saida) and Subsistence Fisheries in the Western Canadian Arctic—Evaluating Linked Climate, Ecosystem and Economic (CEE) Models

et al. 2019

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“…As indicators of ecosystem variability, marine mammals provide a nexus for sustained integration of CS and IK (e.g. George et al 2015, Loseto et al 2018aLoseto et al , 2018b. Combining these two approaches in novel and synergistic ways will foster more rapid adaptation to ecosystem shifts through coordinated decision-making that cross-weaves knowledge (e.g.…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine mammal ecology and health: finding common ground between conventional science and indigenous knowledge to track arctic ecosystem variability

Moore

Hauser

2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Marine mammals respond to, and thereby reflect, changes in Arctic ecosystems that are important both to practitioners of conventional science (CS) and to holders of indigenous knowledge (IK). Although often seen as contrasting approaches to tracking ecosystem variability, when CS and IK are combined they can provide complementary and synergistic information. Despite exceptions, ecosystem-focused CS is often spatially broad and time shallow (1000 s km, decades) while IK is comparatively narrow spatially and time deep (10 s km, centuries). In addition, differences in how information is gathered, stored, applied and communicated can confound information integration from these two knowledge systems. Over the past four decades, research partnerships between CS practitioners and IK holders have provided novel insights to an Alaskan Arctic marine ecosystem in rapid transition. We identify insights from some of those projects, as they relate to changes in sea ice, oceanography, and more broadly to marine mammal ecology and health. From those insights and the protocols of existing community-based programs, we suggest that the strong seasonal cycle of Arctic environmental events should be leveraged as a shared framework to provide common ground for communication when developing projects related to marine mammal health and ecology. Adopting a shared temporal framework would foster joint CS-IK thinking and support the development of novel and nonlinear approaches to shared questions and concerns regarding marine mammals. The overarching goal is to extend the range and depth of a common understanding of marine mammal health and ecology during a period of rapid ecosystem alteration. The current focus on CS-IK coproduction of knowledge and recent inclusion of marine mammals as essential variables in global ocean observatories makes this an opportune time to find common ground for understanding and adapting to the rapid changes now underway in Arctic marine ecosystems.

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Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), environmental change and marine protected areas in the Western Canadian Arctic

Cited by 25 publications

References 48 publications

The summer soundscape of a shallow-water estuary used by beluga whales in the western Canadian Arctic

The summer soundscape of a shallow-water estuary used by beluga whales in the western Canadian Arctic

Impacts of the Changing Ocean-Sea Ice System on the Key Forage Fish Arctic Cod (Boreogadus Saida) and Subsistence Fisheries in the Western Canadian Arctic—Evaluating Linked Climate, Ecosystem and Economic (CEE) Models

Marine mammal ecology and health: finding common ground between conventional science and indigenous knowledge to track arctic ecosystem variability

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