Summer diet of beluga whales inferred by fatty acid analysis of the eastern Beaufort Sea food web

Loseto, Lisa L.; Stern, Gary A.; Connelly, Tara L.; Deibel, Don; Gemmill, Bonnie; Prokopowicz, A.; Fortier, Louis; Ferguson, Steven H.

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2009.03.015

Cited by 134 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Our fi ndings that the predominant fi sh species of the Beaufort Sea stock was Arctic cod was also found by Loseto et al (2009) using fatty acid analysis. Overall however, we found invertebrates in more stomachs than fi sh; 66% of all stomachs contained invertebrates only.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Studiessupporting

confidence: 70%

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Diet of beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas, in Alaska from stomach contents, March-November

Quakenbush¹,

Suydam²,

Brown³

et al. 2015

MFR

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Section: Comparison With Other Studiessupporting

confidence: 70%

“…Overall however, we found invertebrates in more stomachs than fi sh; 66% of all stomachs contained invertebrates only. Loseto et al (2009) did not fi nd invertebrates to be important prey relative to the importance of Arctic cod.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Studiesmentioning

confidence: 86%

Diet of beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas, in Alaska from stomach contents, March-November

Quakenbush¹,

Suydam²,

Brown³

et al. 2015

MFR

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“…[160] Fatty acids indicated that overall the beluga diet was dominated by Arctic cod and was poor in benthic prey. [223] However, size-related dietary differences were evident, with larger beluga preferring offshore Arctic cod, and smaller beluga feeding on near-shore prey including Arctic cod; prey species in near-shore areas have lower Hg concentrations than in offshore pelagic areas. [144] Unlike fish, beluga reach a mature length at a certain age, and subsequently feed in relation to their size and energetic demands of reproductive needs rather than age.…”

Section: Eastern Beaufort Sea Belugamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[160] This relationship suggests that muscle Hg concentrations reflect dietary Hg uptake and to a lesser extent bioaccumulation over time. [223] Larger beluga were either feeding at higher trophic levels or in different food webs with higher Hg sources. Conversely, age was not significantly correlated with muscle Hg levels, [160] as also occurs with Hg in ringed seal muscle.…”

Section: Eastern Beaufort Sea Belugamentioning

confidence: 99%

The fate of mercury in Arctic terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, a review

Douglas

Loseto²,

Macdonald³

et al. 2012

Environ. Chem.

121

147

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Environmental context. Mercury, in its methylated form, is a neurotoxin that biomagnifies in marine and terrestrial foodwebs leading to elevated levels in fish and fish-eating mammals worldwide, including at numerous Arctic locations. Elevated mercury concentrations in Arctic country foods present a significant exposure risk to Arctic people. We present a detailed review of the fate of mercury in Arctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems, taking into account the extreme seasonality of Arctic ecosystems and the unique processes associated with sea ice and Arctic hydrology.Abstract. This review is the result of a series of multidisciplinary meetings organised by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme as part of their 2011 Assessment 'Mercury in the Arctic'. This paper presents the state-of-the-art knowledge on the environmental fate of mercury following its entry into the Arctic by oceanic, atmospheric and terrestrial pathways. Our focus is on the movement, transformation and bioaccumulation of Hg in aquatic (marine and fresh water) and terrestrial ecosystems. The processes most relevant to biological Hg uptake and the potential risk associated with Hg exposure in wildlife are emphasised. We present discussions of the chemical transformations of newly deposited or transported Hg in marine, fresh water and terrestrial environments and of the movement of Hg from air, soil and water environmental compartments into food webs. Methylation, a key process controlling the fate of Hg in most ecosystems, and the role of trophic processes in controlling Hg in higher order animals are also included. Case studies on Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) and landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) are presented as examples of the relationship between ecosystem trophic processes and biologic Hg levels. We examine whether atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs) contribute to increased Hg levels in Arctic biota and provide information on the links between organic carbon and Hg speciation, dynamics and bioavailability. Long-term sequestration of Hg into non-biological archives is also addressed. The review concludes by identifying major knowledge gaps in our understanding, including:(1) the rates of Hg entry into marine and terrestrial ecosystems and the rates of inorganic and MeHg uptake by Arctic microbial and algal communities; (2) the bioavailable fraction of AMDE-related Hg and its rate of accumulation by biota and (3) the fresh water and marine MeHg cycle in the Arctic, especially the marine MeHg cycle.

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“…Histological and biochemical blubber parameters are related to environmental conditions to formulate hypotheses about developmental and environmental correlates of morphology. Blubber fatty acid composition and structure has also been used to infer population distribution, phylogeny, and feeding ecology in a variety of species including bowheads (Lockyer et al, 1984;Hoekstra et al, 2002;Budge et al, 2004;Samuel and Worthy, 2004;Budge et al, 2008;Cooper et al, 2009;Loseto et al, 2009). …”

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confidence: 99%

Seasonal and Ontogenetic Variation in Subcutaneous Adipose Of the Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus)

Ball

Stavarz

Oldaker

et al. 2015

The Anatomical Record

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Cetacean evolution was shaped by an extraordinary land-to-sea transition in which the ancestors of whales became fully aquatic. As part of this transition, these mammals evolved unusually thick blubber which acts as a metabolic reservoir as well as an insulator and provides buoyancy and streamlining. This study describes blubber stratification and correlates it to seasonal variation, feeding patterns, and ontogeny in an arctic-adapted mysticete, the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus). Bowheads are unique among mammals for possessing the largest known blubber stores. We found that adipocyte numbers in bowheads, like other mammals, do not vary with season or feeding pattern but that adipocyte size and structural fiber densities do vary with blubber depth.

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Summer diet of beluga whales inferred by fatty acid analysis of the eastern Beaufort Sea food web

Cited by 134 publications

References 38 publications

Diet of beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas, in Alaska from stomach contents, March-November

Diet of beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas, in Alaska from stomach contents, March-November

The fate of mercury in Arctic terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, a review

Seasonal and Ontogenetic Variation in Subcutaneous Adipose Of the Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus)

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