Beluga whale body condition: evaluating environmental variables on beluga body condition indicators in the Tarium Niryutait MPA, Beaufort Sea
The development of indicators as tools for ecosystem monitoring is a key step in the management of marine protected areas (MPAs). This study uses previously developed sex-specific body condition indices, blubber thickness, and girth, to assess temporal changes in body condition from 2000 to 2015 in...
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Canadian Science Publishing
2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0026 https://doaj.org/article/18daf27a886d4b8680339dbf55c9fc63 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:18daf27a886d4b8680339dbf55c9fc63 2023-10-01T03:52:30+02:00 Beluga whale body condition: evaluating environmental variables on beluga body condition indicators in the Tarium Niryutait MPA, Beaufort Sea K. MacMillan C. Hoover J. Iacozza J. Peyton L. Loseto 2023-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0026 https://doaj.org/article/18daf27a886d4b8680339dbf55c9fc63 EN FR eng fre Canadian Science Publishing https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2021-0026 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2021-0026 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/18daf27a886d4b8680339dbf55c9fc63 Arctic Science, Vol 9, Iss 3, Pp 678-688 (2023) belugas indicators body condition climate change MPA Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0026 2023-09-03T00:48:51Z The development of indicators as tools for ecosystem monitoring is a key step in the management of marine protected areas (MPAs). This study uses previously developed sex-specific body condition indices, blubber thickness, and girth, to assess temporal changes in body condition from 2000 to 2015 in harvested Eastern Beaufort Sea (EBS) beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Specifically, the goals were to (1) examine seasonal and inter-annual trends of beluga body condition indicators over the harvest season; (2) evaluate associations of body condition indicators across sexes; and (3) test annual means of each body condition index for correlations to regional scale environmental drivers (i.e., the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and sea-ice minimum (SIM) in the Beaufort Sea). Significant seasonal changes in male blubber thickness and female girth indices demonstrated the importance of short-term seasonal drivers. Whilst inter-annual changes in girth and blubber thickness indices revealed longer-term changes, that were correlated between males and females. Only the male girth index had significant relationships with environmental drivers: a negative relationship with the PDO at a zero-year lag, and a negative relationship with the SIM at a two-year lag. The PDO is believed to capture broader environmental changes occurring at wintering habitats and migration routes of the EBS beluga that reveals connectivity between the EBS beluga home range and body condition metrics. While body condition metrics for harvested EBS belugas are regularly collected under a long-running beluga monitoring program, the interpretation and application to MPA monitoring remains difficult. We recommend the continued collection of both girth and blubber thickness measurements along with the inclusion of Inuvialuit Knowledge and observations to strengthen interpretations and inform monitoring of beluga health. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Inuvialuit Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Pacific Arctic Science |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English French |
topic |
belugas indicators body condition climate change MPA Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
spellingShingle |
belugas indicators body condition climate change MPA Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 K. MacMillan C. Hoover J. Iacozza J. Peyton L. Loseto Beluga whale body condition: evaluating environmental variables on beluga body condition indicators in the Tarium Niryutait MPA, Beaufort Sea |
topic_facet |
belugas indicators body condition climate change MPA Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
description |
The development of indicators as tools for ecosystem monitoring is a key step in the management of marine protected areas (MPAs). This study uses previously developed sex-specific body condition indices, blubber thickness, and girth, to assess temporal changes in body condition from 2000 to 2015 in harvested Eastern Beaufort Sea (EBS) beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Specifically, the goals were to (1) examine seasonal and inter-annual trends of beluga body condition indicators over the harvest season; (2) evaluate associations of body condition indicators across sexes; and (3) test annual means of each body condition index for correlations to regional scale environmental drivers (i.e., the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and sea-ice minimum (SIM) in the Beaufort Sea). Significant seasonal changes in male blubber thickness and female girth indices demonstrated the importance of short-term seasonal drivers. Whilst inter-annual changes in girth and blubber thickness indices revealed longer-term changes, that were correlated between males and females. Only the male girth index had significant relationships with environmental drivers: a negative relationship with the PDO at a zero-year lag, and a negative relationship with the SIM at a two-year lag. The PDO is believed to capture broader environmental changes occurring at wintering habitats and migration routes of the EBS beluga that reveals connectivity between the EBS beluga home range and body condition metrics. While body condition metrics for harvested EBS belugas are regularly collected under a long-running beluga monitoring program, the interpretation and application to MPA monitoring remains difficult. We recommend the continued collection of both girth and blubber thickness measurements along with the inclusion of Inuvialuit Knowledge and observations to strengthen interpretations and inform monitoring of beluga health. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
K. MacMillan C. Hoover J. Iacozza J. Peyton L. Loseto |
author_facet |
K. MacMillan C. Hoover J. Iacozza J. Peyton L. Loseto |
author_sort |
K. MacMillan |
title |
Beluga whale body condition: evaluating environmental variables on beluga body condition indicators in the Tarium Niryutait MPA, Beaufort Sea |
title_short |
Beluga whale body condition: evaluating environmental variables on beluga body condition indicators in the Tarium Niryutait MPA, Beaufort Sea |
title_full |
Beluga whale body condition: evaluating environmental variables on beluga body condition indicators in the Tarium Niryutait MPA, Beaufort Sea |
title_fullStr |
Beluga whale body condition: evaluating environmental variables on beluga body condition indicators in the Tarium Niryutait MPA, Beaufort Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Beluga whale body condition: evaluating environmental variables on beluga body condition indicators in the Tarium Niryutait MPA, Beaufort Sea |
title_sort |
beluga whale body condition: evaluating environmental variables on beluga body condition indicators in the tarium niryutait mpa, beaufort sea |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0026 https://doaj.org/article/18daf27a886d4b8680339dbf55c9fc63 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Arctic Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Inuvialuit Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Beaufort Sea Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Inuvialuit Sea ice |
op_source |
Arctic Science, Vol 9, Iss 3, Pp 678-688 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2021-0026 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2021-0026 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/18daf27a886d4b8680339dbf55c9fc63 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2021-0026 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
_version_ |
1778518660572250112 |