Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) response to personal watercraft and motorized whale watching vessels in the Churchill River estuary
As interest in tourism and conservation grows worldwide, whale-watching has become a popular means of educating the public about wildlife conservation. The short-term impact of ecotourism industries on observed species has been widely studied with findings that indicate responses are most often beha...
Published in: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.837425 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.837425/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fmars.2022.837425 2024-02-11T10:02:30+01:00 Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) response to personal watercraft and motorized whale watching vessels in the Churchill River estuary Ausen, Emma L. Marcoux, Marianne Chan, Wayne S. Barber, David G. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Canada Research Chairs 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.837425 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.837425/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Marine Science volume 9 ISSN 2296-7745 Ocean Engineering Water Science and Technology Aquatic Science Global and Planetary Change Oceanography journal-article 2022 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.837425 2024-01-26T10:04:48Z As interest in tourism and conservation grows worldwide, whale-watching has become a popular means of educating the public about wildlife conservation. The short-term impact of ecotourism industries on observed species has been widely studied with findings that indicate responses are most often behavior alterations or avoidance. Close vessel interactions with beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) are a major draw for whale-watching ecotourism in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. As the Churchill River estuary and surrounding waters are assessed for a Marine Protected Area, information on the response of belugas to vessels are needed to inform management. To assess this, an oblique time-lapse camera system with a 5-minute photo interval was set up overlooking a section of the Churchill River estuary that is shared by belugas and tourist vessels. Measurements calculated from photos were used to compare the distance between belugas and kayaks, paddleboards, motorboats, and Zodiac whale-watching vessels. These distances were compared to an expected distribution generated from locations of belugas in photos without the presence of vessels. We found evidence that belugas are attracted to kayaks, avoid paddleboards, and are neutral regarding motorboats and Zodiacs. This is the first study to quantify the behavioral response of cetaceans to tourist vessels using a camera system and a distance-based analysis. Results could inform the development of a site-specific management system that accounts for beluga-vessel relationships. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beluga Beluga* Churchill Churchill River Delphinapterus leucas Frontiers (Publisher) Canada Frontiers in Marine Science 9 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Frontiers (Publisher) |
op_collection_id |
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language |
unknown |
topic |
Ocean Engineering Water Science and Technology Aquatic Science Global and Planetary Change Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Ocean Engineering Water Science and Technology Aquatic Science Global and Planetary Change Oceanography Ausen, Emma L. Marcoux, Marianne Chan, Wayne S. Barber, David G. Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) response to personal watercraft and motorized whale watching vessels in the Churchill River estuary |
topic_facet |
Ocean Engineering Water Science and Technology Aquatic Science Global and Planetary Change Oceanography |
description |
As interest in tourism and conservation grows worldwide, whale-watching has become a popular means of educating the public about wildlife conservation. The short-term impact of ecotourism industries on observed species has been widely studied with findings that indicate responses are most often behavior alterations or avoidance. Close vessel interactions with beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) are a major draw for whale-watching ecotourism in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. As the Churchill River estuary and surrounding waters are assessed for a Marine Protected Area, information on the response of belugas to vessels are needed to inform management. To assess this, an oblique time-lapse camera system with a 5-minute photo interval was set up overlooking a section of the Churchill River estuary that is shared by belugas and tourist vessels. Measurements calculated from photos were used to compare the distance between belugas and kayaks, paddleboards, motorboats, and Zodiac whale-watching vessels. These distances were compared to an expected distribution generated from locations of belugas in photos without the presence of vessels. We found evidence that belugas are attracted to kayaks, avoid paddleboards, and are neutral regarding motorboats and Zodiacs. This is the first study to quantify the behavioral response of cetaceans to tourist vessels using a camera system and a distance-based analysis. Results could inform the development of a site-specific management system that accounts for beluga-vessel relationships. |
author2 |
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Canada Research Chairs |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ausen, Emma L. Marcoux, Marianne Chan, Wayne S. Barber, David G. |
author_facet |
Ausen, Emma L. Marcoux, Marianne Chan, Wayne S. Barber, David G. |
author_sort |
Ausen, Emma L. |
title |
Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) response to personal watercraft and motorized whale watching vessels in the Churchill River estuary |
title_short |
Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) response to personal watercraft and motorized whale watching vessels in the Churchill River estuary |
title_full |
Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) response to personal watercraft and motorized whale watching vessels in the Churchill River estuary |
title_fullStr |
Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) response to personal watercraft and motorized whale watching vessels in the Churchill River estuary |
title_full_unstemmed |
Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) response to personal watercraft and motorized whale watching vessels in the Churchill River estuary |
title_sort |
beluga (delphinapterus leucas) response to personal watercraft and motorized whale watching vessels in the churchill river estuary |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.837425 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.837425/full |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Beluga Beluga* Churchill Churchill River Delphinapterus leucas |
genre_facet |
Beluga Beluga* Churchill Churchill River Delphinapterus leucas |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science volume 9 ISSN 2296-7745 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.837425 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
9 |
_version_ |
1790598527169069056 |