A shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the threatened Cumberland Sound population may reflect a changing Arctic food web
Cumberland Sound, an inlet on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, is undergoing changes in sea ice cover, which is affecting the marine food web. A small population of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas inhabits Cumberland Sound year round and this population is currently listed as threatened. Relative...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:99d74308f87b48599922a541a570363d 2023-05-15T14:30:22+02:00 A shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the threatened Cumberland Sound population may reflect a changing Arctic food web Watt, CA Orr, J Ferguson, SH 2016-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00768 https://doaj.org/article/99d74308f87b48599922a541a570363d EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v31/p259-270/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00768 https://doaj.org/article/99d74308f87b48599922a541a570363d Endangered Species Research, Vol 31, Pp 259-270 (2016) Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00768 2022-12-31T08:20:07Z Cumberland Sound, an inlet on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, is undergoing changes in sea ice cover, which is affecting the marine food web. A small population of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas inhabits Cumberland Sound year round and this population is currently listed as threatened. Relatively little is known about the foraging behaviour of these belugas, but we expected that food web changes, primarily an increased abundance of capelin in the region, would have an impact on their diet and dive behaviour. We evaluated fatty acids in blubber samples collected from subsistence-hunted belugas in Cumberland Sound from the 1980s to 2010, and analyzed satellite tag information from 7 belugas tagged in 2006 to 2008 to gain a better understanding of their foraging behaviour. There was a change in the fatty acid profile of beluga blubber from the 1980s compared to the 1990s and 2000s. Specific fatty acids indicative of capelin and Arctic cod increased and decreased over time respectively, suggesting an increased consumption of capelin with a reduction in Arctic cod in summer in more recent years. Dive behaviour suggested different foraging tactics across seasons. Shallow short dives occurred in summer, which may indicate foraging on capelin, while deeper longer dives were made in autumn and winter, possibly indicating foraging on deeper prey such as Arctic cod and Greenland halibut. Potentially, autumn and winter are important foraging seasons for belugas, amassing energy reserves as blubber and creating a possible competitive conflict for resource use between belugas and expanding commercial fisheries. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic cod Arctic Baffin Island Baffin Beluga Beluga* Cumberland Sound Delphinapterus leucas Greenland Nunavut Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Nunavut Baffin Island Canada Greenland Cumberland Sound ENVELOPE(-66.014,-66.014,65.334,65.334) Endangered Species Research 31 259 270 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
spellingShingle |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 Watt, CA Orr, J Ferguson, SH A shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the threatened Cumberland Sound population may reflect a changing Arctic food web |
topic_facet |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
description |
Cumberland Sound, an inlet on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, is undergoing changes in sea ice cover, which is affecting the marine food web. A small population of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas inhabits Cumberland Sound year round and this population is currently listed as threatened. Relatively little is known about the foraging behaviour of these belugas, but we expected that food web changes, primarily an increased abundance of capelin in the region, would have an impact on their diet and dive behaviour. We evaluated fatty acids in blubber samples collected from subsistence-hunted belugas in Cumberland Sound from the 1980s to 2010, and analyzed satellite tag information from 7 belugas tagged in 2006 to 2008 to gain a better understanding of their foraging behaviour. There was a change in the fatty acid profile of beluga blubber from the 1980s compared to the 1990s and 2000s. Specific fatty acids indicative of capelin and Arctic cod increased and decreased over time respectively, suggesting an increased consumption of capelin with a reduction in Arctic cod in summer in more recent years. Dive behaviour suggested different foraging tactics across seasons. Shallow short dives occurred in summer, which may indicate foraging on capelin, while deeper longer dives were made in autumn and winter, possibly indicating foraging on deeper prey such as Arctic cod and Greenland halibut. Potentially, autumn and winter are important foraging seasons for belugas, amassing energy reserves as blubber and creating a possible competitive conflict for resource use between belugas and expanding commercial fisheries. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Watt, CA Orr, J Ferguson, SH |
author_facet |
Watt, CA Orr, J Ferguson, SH |
author_sort |
Watt, CA |
title |
A shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the threatened Cumberland Sound population may reflect a changing Arctic food web |
title_short |
A shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the threatened Cumberland Sound population may reflect a changing Arctic food web |
title_full |
A shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the threatened Cumberland Sound population may reflect a changing Arctic food web |
title_fullStr |
A shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the threatened Cumberland Sound population may reflect a changing Arctic food web |
title_full_unstemmed |
A shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the threatened Cumberland Sound population may reflect a changing Arctic food web |
title_sort |
shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales delphinapterus leucas from the threatened cumberland sound population may reflect a changing arctic food web |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00768 https://doaj.org/article/99d74308f87b48599922a541a570363d |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-66.014,-66.014,65.334,65.334) |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavut Baffin Island Canada Greenland Cumberland Sound |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavut Baffin Island Canada Greenland Cumberland Sound |
genre |
Arctic cod Arctic Baffin Island Baffin Beluga Beluga* Cumberland Sound Delphinapterus leucas Greenland Nunavut Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic cod Arctic Baffin Island Baffin Beluga Beluga* Cumberland Sound Delphinapterus leucas Greenland Nunavut Sea ice |
op_source |
Endangered Species Research, Vol 31, Pp 259-270 (2016) |
op_relation |
https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v31/p259-270/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00768 https://doaj.org/article/99d74308f87b48599922a541a570363d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00768 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
31 |
container_start_page |
259 |
op_container_end_page |
270 |
_version_ |
1766304225290092544 |