River-influenced beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) summer habitat use in western Hudson Bay, Canada
River estuaries along western Hudson Bay, Canada, are important summer habitats for beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucus (Pallas, 1776)) and subject to increasing industrial development activities including vessel traffic. The feasibility of establishing a National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) in...
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Canadian Science Publishing
2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0040 https://doaj.org/article/f185feba635a430b889b00d1767bbc83 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f185feba635a430b889b00d1767bbc83 2023-09-26T15:12:17+02:00 River-influenced beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) summer habitat use in western Hudson Bay, Canada Emma L. Ausen David G. Barber Atreya Basu Jens Ehn David Walker Laura Dalman Marianne Marcoux 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0040 https://doaj.org/article/f185feba635a430b889b00d1767bbc83 EN FR eng fre Canadian Science Publishing https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2022-0040 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2022-0040 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/f185feba635a430b889b00d1767bbc83 Arctic Science (2023) beluga whale CDOM Delphinapterus leucas remote sensing river plume TSS Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0040 2023-08-27T00:38:44Z River estuaries along western Hudson Bay, Canada, are important summer habitats for beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucus (Pallas, 1776)) and subject to increasing industrial development activities including vessel traffic. The feasibility of establishing a National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) in western Hudson Bay is under consideration, requiring baseline studies and habitat monitoring. In this study, beluga whale locations were identified using aerial photographs collected during summer 2018 of the Seal, Knife, Churchill, and Nelson River estuaries. Sentinel 2 wavelength bands were used to outline river plume boundaries for the Seal, Knife, and Churchill Rivers. Multiple discriminant analysis was used to differentiate between beluga habitat areas according to their environmental characteristics including concentration of total suspended sediments (TSS), and coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM). The Seal River estuary, Knife River estuary, Churchill River outer estuary, Churchill River estuary, and Nelson River estuary were identified as distinct habitat areas. Resource selection functions and model selection were used to determine that habitat variables related to prey availability were important for beluga habitat selection, including TSS, CDOM, and the distance to river mouth or river plume. Identification of preferred habitat and habitat areas in this study are imperative for future management decisions including establishment of an NMCA. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Churchill River Delphinapterus leucas Hudson Bay Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada Hudson Hudson Bay Arctic Science |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English French |
topic |
beluga whale CDOM Delphinapterus leucas remote sensing river plume TSS Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
spellingShingle |
beluga whale CDOM Delphinapterus leucas remote sensing river plume TSS Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 Emma L. Ausen David G. Barber Atreya Basu Jens Ehn David Walker Laura Dalman Marianne Marcoux River-influenced beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) summer habitat use in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
topic_facet |
beluga whale CDOM Delphinapterus leucas remote sensing river plume TSS Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
description |
River estuaries along western Hudson Bay, Canada, are important summer habitats for beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucus (Pallas, 1776)) and subject to increasing industrial development activities including vessel traffic. The feasibility of establishing a National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) in western Hudson Bay is under consideration, requiring baseline studies and habitat monitoring. In this study, beluga whale locations were identified using aerial photographs collected during summer 2018 of the Seal, Knife, Churchill, and Nelson River estuaries. Sentinel 2 wavelength bands were used to outline river plume boundaries for the Seal, Knife, and Churchill Rivers. Multiple discriminant analysis was used to differentiate between beluga habitat areas according to their environmental characteristics including concentration of total suspended sediments (TSS), and coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM). The Seal River estuary, Knife River estuary, Churchill River outer estuary, Churchill River estuary, and Nelson River estuary were identified as distinct habitat areas. Resource selection functions and model selection were used to determine that habitat variables related to prey availability were important for beluga habitat selection, including TSS, CDOM, and the distance to river mouth or river plume. Identification of preferred habitat and habitat areas in this study are imperative for future management decisions including establishment of an NMCA. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Emma L. Ausen David G. Barber Atreya Basu Jens Ehn David Walker Laura Dalman Marianne Marcoux |
author_facet |
Emma L. Ausen David G. Barber Atreya Basu Jens Ehn David Walker Laura Dalman Marianne Marcoux |
author_sort |
Emma L. Ausen |
title |
River-influenced beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) summer habitat use in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_short |
River-influenced beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) summer habitat use in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_full |
River-influenced beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) summer habitat use in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_fullStr |
River-influenced beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) summer habitat use in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
River-influenced beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) summer habitat use in western Hudson Bay, Canada |
title_sort |
river-influenced beluga (delphinapterus leucas) summer habitat use in western hudson bay, canada |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0040 https://doaj.org/article/f185feba635a430b889b00d1767bbc83 |
geographic |
Canada Hudson Hudson Bay |
geographic_facet |
Canada Hudson Hudson Bay |
genre |
Arctic Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Churchill River Delphinapterus leucas Hudson Bay |
genre_facet |
Arctic Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Churchill River Delphinapterus leucas Hudson Bay |
op_source |
Arctic Science (2023) |
op_relation |
https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/as-2022-0040 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2022-0040 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/f185feba635a430b889b00d1767bbc83 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2022-0040 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
_version_ |
1778133065039609856 |