Diet and feeding observations from an unusual beluga harvest in 2014 in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada
The Eastern Beaufort Sea (EBS) beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) population are an important traditional food for the Inuit of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Northwest Territories (NT) Canada. In 2014, over 30 beluga whales were harvested at Ulukhaktok, NT, the first occurrence for a large harvest i...
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Online Access: | https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00428/53927/55053.pdf https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0046 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00428/53927/ |
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ftarchimer:oai:archimer.ifremer.fr:53927 2023-05-15T14:24:09+02:00 Diet and feeding observations from an unusual beluga harvest in 2014 in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada Loseto, Lisa L. Brewster, Jasmine D. Ostertag, Sonja K. Snow, Kathleen Macphee, Shannon A. Mcnicholl, Darcy G. Choy, Emily S. Giraldo, Carolina Hornby, Claire A. 2018-09 application/pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00428/53927/55053.pdf https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0046 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00428/53927/ eng eng Canadian Science Publishing, Nrc Research Press https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00428/53927/55053.pdf doi:10.1139/as-2017-0046 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00428/53927/ This article is open access. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en_GB. info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use CC-BY Arctic Science (2368-7460) (Canadian Science Publishing, Nrc Research Press), 2018-09 , Vol. 4 , N. 3 , P. 421-431 beluga diet stomach contents traditional and local knowledge Sandlance text Publication info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2018 ftarchimer https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0046 2021-09-23T20:30:38Z The Eastern Beaufort Sea (EBS) beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) population are an important traditional food for the Inuit of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Northwest Territories (NT) Canada. In 2014, over 30 beluga whales were harvested at Ulukhaktok, NT, the first occurrence for a large harvest in the area. Unlike observations from the established beluga harvest monitoring in the Mackenzie Estuary, these belugas had numerous prey and prey items in their stomachs. Our study objectives were to combine traditional and local knowledge (TLK) from beluga hunters with the analysis of dissected stomachs to identify EBS beluga diet, feeding behaviour, as well as gain insights into potential drivers of the event. TLK holders witnessed foraging behaviors such as herding schools of fish. Stomach dissections revealed Sandlance (Ammodytes sp.) to be the predominant prey species, comprising 90% of identified otoliths, occurring in 92% of stomachs. The low presence of Arctic Cod (Boreogadus saida) otoliths, a preferred prey, raised questions about availability/accessibility and if alternative prey can sustain beluga energetic needs. Based on interviews of TLK holders, avoidance of noise due to human activity, killer whale presence, and shifts in prey were factors that may have led to the increased beluga sightings near Ulukhaktok NT. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic cod Arctic Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga* Boreogadus saida Delphinapterus leucas inuit Inuvialuit Killer Whale Northwest Territories Ulukhaktok Killer whale Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) Arctic Canada Northwest Territories Ulukhaktok ENVELOPE(-117.772,-117.772,70.736,70.736) Arctic Science 1 11 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) |
op_collection_id |
ftarchimer |
language |
English |
topic |
beluga diet stomach contents traditional and local knowledge Sandlance |
spellingShingle |
beluga diet stomach contents traditional and local knowledge Sandlance Loseto, Lisa L. Brewster, Jasmine D. Ostertag, Sonja K. Snow, Kathleen Macphee, Shannon A. Mcnicholl, Darcy G. Choy, Emily S. Giraldo, Carolina Hornby, Claire A. Diet and feeding observations from an unusual beluga harvest in 2014 in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada |
topic_facet |
beluga diet stomach contents traditional and local knowledge Sandlance |
description |
The Eastern Beaufort Sea (EBS) beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) population are an important traditional food for the Inuit of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Northwest Territories (NT) Canada. In 2014, over 30 beluga whales were harvested at Ulukhaktok, NT, the first occurrence for a large harvest in the area. Unlike observations from the established beluga harvest monitoring in the Mackenzie Estuary, these belugas had numerous prey and prey items in their stomachs. Our study objectives were to combine traditional and local knowledge (TLK) from beluga hunters with the analysis of dissected stomachs to identify EBS beluga diet, feeding behaviour, as well as gain insights into potential drivers of the event. TLK holders witnessed foraging behaviors such as herding schools of fish. Stomach dissections revealed Sandlance (Ammodytes sp.) to be the predominant prey species, comprising 90% of identified otoliths, occurring in 92% of stomachs. The low presence of Arctic Cod (Boreogadus saida) otoliths, a preferred prey, raised questions about availability/accessibility and if alternative prey can sustain beluga energetic needs. Based on interviews of TLK holders, avoidance of noise due to human activity, killer whale presence, and shifts in prey were factors that may have led to the increased beluga sightings near Ulukhaktok NT. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Loseto, Lisa L. Brewster, Jasmine D. Ostertag, Sonja K. Snow, Kathleen Macphee, Shannon A. Mcnicholl, Darcy G. Choy, Emily S. Giraldo, Carolina Hornby, Claire A. |
author_facet |
Loseto, Lisa L. Brewster, Jasmine D. Ostertag, Sonja K. Snow, Kathleen Macphee, Shannon A. Mcnicholl, Darcy G. Choy, Emily S. Giraldo, Carolina Hornby, Claire A. |
author_sort |
Loseto, Lisa L. |
title |
Diet and feeding observations from an unusual beluga harvest in 2014 in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_short |
Diet and feeding observations from an unusual beluga harvest in 2014 in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_full |
Diet and feeding observations from an unusual beluga harvest in 2014 in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Diet and feeding observations from an unusual beluga harvest in 2014 in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Diet and feeding observations from an unusual beluga harvest in 2014 in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_sort |
diet and feeding observations from an unusual beluga harvest in 2014 in ulukhaktok, northwest territories, canada |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing, Nrc Research Press |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00428/53927/55053.pdf https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0046 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00428/53927/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-117.772,-117.772,70.736,70.736) |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Northwest Territories Ulukhaktok |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Northwest Territories Ulukhaktok |
genre |
Arctic Arctic cod Arctic Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga* Boreogadus saida Delphinapterus leucas inuit Inuvialuit Killer Whale Northwest Territories Ulukhaktok Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic cod Arctic Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga* Boreogadus saida Delphinapterus leucas inuit Inuvialuit Killer Whale Northwest Territories Ulukhaktok Killer whale |
op_source |
Arctic Science (2368-7460) (Canadian Science Publishing, Nrc Research Press), 2018-09 , Vol. 4 , N. 3 , P. 421-431 |
op_relation |
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00428/53927/55053.pdf doi:10.1139/as-2017-0046 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00428/53927/ |
op_rights |
This article is open access. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en_GB. info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0046 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
11 |
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1766296609749991424 |