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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ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-04202063v1 2023-10-09T21:47:27+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. Laboratoire Ressources halieutiques Boulogne sur mer (LRHBL) Halieutique Manche Mer du Nord (HMMN) Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) 2018-09 https://hal.science/hal-04202063 https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0046 en eng HAL CCSD NRC Research Press info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1139/as-2017-0046 hal-04202063 https://hal.science/hal-04202063 doi:10.1139/as-2017-0046 ISSN: 2368-7460 Arctic Science https://hal.science/hal-04202063 Arctic Science, 2018, 4 (3), pp.421-431. ⟨10.1139/as-2017-0046⟩ [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2018 ftccsdartic https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0046 2023-09-23T22:55:09Z 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 Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) Arctic Northwest Territories Canada Ulukhaktok ENVELOPE(-117.772,-117.772,70.736,70.736) Arctic Science 1 11 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) |
op_collection_id |
ftccsdartic |
language |
English |
topic |
[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] |
spellingShingle |
[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] 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 |
[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] |
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. |
author2 |
Laboratoire Ressources halieutiques Boulogne sur mer (LRHBL) Halieutique Manche Mer du Nord (HMMN) Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) |
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 |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-04202063 https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0046 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-117.772,-117.772,70.736,70.736) |
geographic |
Arctic Northwest Territories Canada Ulukhaktok |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Northwest Territories Canada 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 |
ISSN: 2368-7460 Arctic Science https://hal.science/hal-04202063 Arctic Science, 2018, 4 (3), pp.421-431. ⟨10.1139/as-2017-0046⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1139/as-2017-0046 hal-04202063 https://hal.science/hal-04202063 doi:10.1139/as-2017-0046 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0046 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
11 |
_version_ |
1779310554359267328 |