Seasonal and diurnal marine mammal presence in the proposed marine protected area of Southampton Island, Hudson Bay, Nunavut as revealed by passive acoustic monitoring

• Published in: Arctic Science
• Main Authors: Coppolaro, Veronica Laura Maria, Gupta, Kaushik, Loseto, Lisa, Mundy, C.J., Marcoux, Marianne
• Other Authors: Arctic Research Foundation, Belmont Forum, Biodiversa+, Oceans Management Contribution Program of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Southampton Island Marine Ecosystem Project, Churchill Marine Observatory, Canada Foundation for Innovation, University of Manitoba, Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2024
• Subjects: Canada; Hudson; Hudson Bay; Nunavut; Southampton Island; Arctic; Balaena mysticetus; Beluga; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas; Erignathus barbatus; Odobenus rosmarus; Sea ice; walrus*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0076; https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/as-2023-0076; https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/as-2023-0076

Marine protected areas contribute to mitigating the effects of human activities on marine ecosystems. The waters of Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada are under consideration to become a marine protected area, but baseline information of marine mammal presence and habitat use is lacking. This study represents the first passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals in this area, with data collected in 2018 and 2019. Bioacoustics analyses and generalized linear models were used to investigate species seasonal and temporal vocalization trends; infer behavior and habitat use from vocal cues; and explore vocal activity correlation with sea ice. Over a diel period, bearded seals ( Erignathus barbatus (Erxleben, 1777)) and walruses ( Odobenus rosmarus (Linnaeus, 1758)) were found to increase their vocal activity at night, whereas belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776)) mainly vocalized during daytime. Seasonally, bearded seals were recorded only during their breeding season at sea ice break-up, while walruses vocalized consistently throughout the open-water period outside their breeding season. Beluga vocal trends suggest their use of the area as a migratory corridor during sea ice break-up and freeze-up. Finally, bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus, 1758) were recorded later than expected, concurrently with the onset of their mating vocal displays during the fall migration at sea ice freeze-up.