Geographic variation in simple contact calls of Canadian beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas )

Abstract Beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas , are a highly social species with a complex and diverse vocal repertoire. Although extensively studied and classified, to date few attempts have been made to examine geographic variation in their calls. In this study, we examined geographic variation in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Mammal Science
Main Authors: Booy, Karyn V., Vergara, Valeria, Loseto, Lisa, Mikus, Marie‐Ana, Marcoux, Marianne
Other Authors: ArcticNet, Garfield Weston Foundation, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Quark Expeditions, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, University of Manitoba, World Wildlife Fund
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023
Subjects:
Aquatic Science
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Arctic
Baffin Bay
Baffin
Beaufort Sea
Beluga
Beluga*
Delphinapterus leucas
Hudson Bay
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.13095
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mms.13095
Description
Summary:Abstract Beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas , are a highly social species with a complex and diverse vocal repertoire. Although extensively studied and classified, to date few attempts have been made to examine geographic variation in their calls. In this study, we examined geographic variation in simple contact calls (SCCs), specifically those that consist only of broadband pulsed trains, among four Canadian beluga populations from the Eastern Beaufort Sea (EBS), the Eastern High Arctic‐Baffin Bay, St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE), and the Western Hudson Bay. Five acoustic parameters were measured for each call and compared among populations using multivariate discriminant analysis. Results of our study indicate that there is a degree of variation in SCCs among these four populations, with the most geographically distant populations of the SLE and EBS displaying the greatest degrees of dissimilarity in SCC structure relative to geographically closer populations. Further, these results align with genetic variation of Canadian beluga populations previously described in the literature. This study is the first descriptive population comparison of SCCs for beluga and establishes a baseline for continued work into this developing area of research.

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