Use of satellite imagery to estimate distribution and abundance of Cumberland Sound beluga whales reveals frequent use of a glacial river estuary
Limiting disturbance in critical habitats is an important part of ensuring the well-being and sustainability of populations at risk, such as Cumberland Sound beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Using non-disruptive Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, an emerging tool in cetacean monitor...
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2024
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1305536 https://doaj.org/article/41d2db8eb59c4b31a898f44de8e7a13a |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:41d2db8eb59c4b31a898f44de8e7a13a 2024-02-11T10:02:30+01:00 Use of satellite imagery to estimate distribution and abundance of Cumberland Sound beluga whales reveals frequent use of a glacial river estuary Amanda M. Belanger Bryanna A. H. Sherbo James D. Roth Cortney A. Watt 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1305536 https://doaj.org/article/41d2db8eb59c4b31a898f44de8e7a13a EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1305536/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1305536 https://doaj.org/article/41d2db8eb59c4b31a898f44de8e7a13a Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 10 (2024) estuary Kernel density estimate (KDE) critical habitat white whale Clearwater Fiord Delphinapterus leucas Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1305536 2024-01-14T01:51:30Z Limiting disturbance in critical habitats is an important part of ensuring the well-being and sustainability of populations at risk, such as Cumberland Sound beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Using non-disruptive Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, an emerging tool in cetacean monitoring, we aimed to estimate summer abundance and identify critical habitat for Cumberland Sound beluga whales. Specifically we looked in fiords that comprise their summer distribution, such as Clearwater Fiord where there is a large estuary, an important habitat to many beluga populations. Satellite images of the area were collected in 2020 and 2021, at 30 cm resolution, and in 2022 at 50 cm resolution. We evaluated beluga whale distribution using Kernel density, and identified critical habitats as areas consistently part of the beluga whale core distribution across years. Clearwater Fiord abundance estimates were corrected for whales that were too deep to be identified in the images. The estimates were significantly lower in 2021 (197 whales, 95%CI: 180-216) and 2022 (194 whales, 95%CI: 172-218) compared to 2020 (393 whales, 95%CI: 366-422). Other fiords were only imaged in 2021 and 2022, resulting in average corrected abundance estimates for all fiords of 462 (95% CI: 425-502) and 252 (95%CI: 226-280) beluga whales, respectively. Downsampling of 30 cm images to 50 cm resulted in up to 45% fewer whales detected. The only critical habitat identified within the summer distribution was in Clearwater Fiord, in or near the estuary freshwater plume and in a bay to the west of the plume. The identified critical habitats should be areas of consideration in the continued discussion on the protection and sustainability of the Cumberland Sound beluga whale population. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Cumberland Sound Delphinapterus leucas White whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Clearwater Fiord ENVELOPE(-67.447,-67.447,66.567,66.567) Cumberland Sound ENVELOPE(-66.014,-66.014,65.334,65.334) Frontiers in Marine Science 10 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
estuary Kernel density estimate (KDE) critical habitat white whale Clearwater Fiord Delphinapterus leucas Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
estuary Kernel density estimate (KDE) critical habitat white whale Clearwater Fiord Delphinapterus leucas Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Amanda M. Belanger Bryanna A. H. Sherbo James D. Roth Cortney A. Watt Use of satellite imagery to estimate distribution and abundance of Cumberland Sound beluga whales reveals frequent use of a glacial river estuary |
topic_facet |
estuary Kernel density estimate (KDE) critical habitat white whale Clearwater Fiord Delphinapterus leucas Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
Limiting disturbance in critical habitats is an important part of ensuring the well-being and sustainability of populations at risk, such as Cumberland Sound beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Using non-disruptive Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, an emerging tool in cetacean monitoring, we aimed to estimate summer abundance and identify critical habitat for Cumberland Sound beluga whales. Specifically we looked in fiords that comprise their summer distribution, such as Clearwater Fiord where there is a large estuary, an important habitat to many beluga populations. Satellite images of the area were collected in 2020 and 2021, at 30 cm resolution, and in 2022 at 50 cm resolution. We evaluated beluga whale distribution using Kernel density, and identified critical habitats as areas consistently part of the beluga whale core distribution across years. Clearwater Fiord abundance estimates were corrected for whales that were too deep to be identified in the images. The estimates were significantly lower in 2021 (197 whales, 95%CI: 180-216) and 2022 (194 whales, 95%CI: 172-218) compared to 2020 (393 whales, 95%CI: 366-422). Other fiords were only imaged in 2021 and 2022, resulting in average corrected abundance estimates for all fiords of 462 (95% CI: 425-502) and 252 (95%CI: 226-280) beluga whales, respectively. Downsampling of 30 cm images to 50 cm resulted in up to 45% fewer whales detected. The only critical habitat identified within the summer distribution was in Clearwater Fiord, in or near the estuary freshwater plume and in a bay to the west of the plume. The identified critical habitats should be areas of consideration in the continued discussion on the protection and sustainability of the Cumberland Sound beluga whale population. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Amanda M. Belanger Bryanna A. H. Sherbo James D. Roth Cortney A. Watt |
author_facet |
Amanda M. Belanger Bryanna A. H. Sherbo James D. Roth Cortney A. Watt |
author_sort |
Amanda M. Belanger |
title |
Use of satellite imagery to estimate distribution and abundance of Cumberland Sound beluga whales reveals frequent use of a glacial river estuary |
title_short |
Use of satellite imagery to estimate distribution and abundance of Cumberland Sound beluga whales reveals frequent use of a glacial river estuary |
title_full |
Use of satellite imagery to estimate distribution and abundance of Cumberland Sound beluga whales reveals frequent use of a glacial river estuary |
title_fullStr |
Use of satellite imagery to estimate distribution and abundance of Cumberland Sound beluga whales reveals frequent use of a glacial river estuary |
title_full_unstemmed |
Use of satellite imagery to estimate distribution and abundance of Cumberland Sound beluga whales reveals frequent use of a glacial river estuary |
title_sort |
use of satellite imagery to estimate distribution and abundance of cumberland sound beluga whales reveals frequent use of a glacial river estuary |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1305536 https://doaj.org/article/41d2db8eb59c4b31a898f44de8e7a13a |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.447,-67.447,66.567,66.567) ENVELOPE(-66.014,-66.014,65.334,65.334) |
geographic |
Clearwater Fiord Cumberland Sound |
geographic_facet |
Clearwater Fiord Cumberland Sound |
genre |
Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Cumberland Sound Delphinapterus leucas White whale |
genre_facet |
Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Cumberland Sound Delphinapterus leucas White whale |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 10 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1305536/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1305536 https://doaj.org/article/41d2db8eb59c4b31a898f44de8e7a13a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1305536 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
10 |
_version_ |
1790598521951354880 |