Group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population using aerial photographs
While it is known that beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776)) are social animals, sociality within populations remains complex and poorly understood. Using aerial photographs taken in mid-July and early August 2019, we examined group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eas...
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2022
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/cjz-2021-0232 2024-09-15T17:58:21+00:00 Group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population using aerial photographs Mayette, Alexandra Loseto, Lisa Pearce, Tristan Hornby, Claire A. Marcoux, Marianne 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2021-0232 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2021-0232 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2021-0232 en eng Canadian Science Publishing https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en_GB Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 100, issue 6, page 363-375 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2022 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2021-0232 2024-09-05T04:11:13Z While it is known that beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776)) are social animals, sociality within populations remains complex and poorly understood. Using aerial photographs taken in mid-July and early August 2019, we examined group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga population in two distinct summering areas: (1) the continental shelf and offshore region of the southeast Beaufort Sea and (2) the inshore of the Mackenzie Estuary. Observations revealed that the mean group size was similar in both environments. A piecewise regression analysis showed that belugas were found to be most frequently within 24.6 m of another beluga in the offshore and within 22.0 m in the inshore. The mean interindividual distance of groups composed of subadults and (or) adults was greater than that of groups including younger whales in both environments. Also, the swimming direction of individuals in a group differed less in the offshore than in the inshore. We suggest that habitat shapes the types of activity conducted and that spatial cohesion within groups persists across environmental conditions but changes with age composition. By identifying elements of social structure and important areas for Eastern Beaufort Sea belugas, our results highlight the value of habitat conservation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
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English |
description |
While it is known that beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776)) are social animals, sociality within populations remains complex and poorly understood. Using aerial photographs taken in mid-July and early August 2019, we examined group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga population in two distinct summering areas: (1) the continental shelf and offshore region of the southeast Beaufort Sea and (2) the inshore of the Mackenzie Estuary. Observations revealed that the mean group size was similar in both environments. A piecewise regression analysis showed that belugas were found to be most frequently within 24.6 m of another beluga in the offshore and within 22.0 m in the inshore. The mean interindividual distance of groups composed of subadults and (or) adults was greater than that of groups including younger whales in both environments. Also, the swimming direction of individuals in a group differed less in the offshore than in the inshore. We suggest that habitat shapes the types of activity conducted and that spatial cohesion within groups persists across environmental conditions but changes with age composition. By identifying elements of social structure and important areas for Eastern Beaufort Sea belugas, our results highlight the value of habitat conservation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mayette, Alexandra Loseto, Lisa Pearce, Tristan Hornby, Claire A. Marcoux, Marianne |
spellingShingle |
Mayette, Alexandra Loseto, Lisa Pearce, Tristan Hornby, Claire A. Marcoux, Marianne Group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population using aerial photographs |
author_facet |
Mayette, Alexandra Loseto, Lisa Pearce, Tristan Hornby, Claire A. Marcoux, Marianne |
author_sort |
Mayette, Alexandra |
title |
Group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population using aerial photographs |
title_short |
Group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population using aerial photographs |
title_full |
Group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population using aerial photographs |
title_fullStr |
Group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population using aerial photographs |
title_full_unstemmed |
Group characteristics and spatial organization of the Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population using aerial photographs |
title_sort |
group characteristics and spatial organization of the eastern beaufort sea beluga whale ( delphinapterus leucas) population using aerial photographs |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2021-0232 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2021-0232 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2021-0232 |
genre |
Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas |
genre_facet |
Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 100, issue 6, page 363-375 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en_GB |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2021-0232 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
_version_ |
1810434747778727936 |