Beluga Vocalizations Decrease in Response to Vessel Traffic in the Mackenzie River Estuary

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Authors: Halliday, William D., Scharffenberg, Kevin, MacPhee, Shannon, Hilliard, R. Casey, Mouy, Xavier, Whalen, Dustin, Loseto, Lisa L., Insley, Stephen J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 2019
• Subjects: behavioural disturbance; Delphinapterus leucas; shipping; underwater noise; perturbations comportementales; navigation; bruit sous-marin; Arctic; Mackenzie River; Beluga; Beluga*; Béluga*; Mackenzie river
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/69294

Vessel traffic negatively affects marine mammals by causing behavioural disturbance, acoustic masking, contamination (i.e., oil spills), and ship strikes. Few studies have examined the effects of vessels on marine mammals in the Arctic, but beluga whales appear to be especially sensitive to vessel traffic. We examine how the vocalizations of belugas are impacted by vessel traffic in the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area in the Mackenzie River estuary of the western Canadian Arctic. Between one and four acoustic recorders were deployed between June and August each year between 2015 and 2018 near the only shipping channel at this site. We examined beluga vocalizations from acoustic recordings over four summers and assessed how the distance to the nearest vessel passing the acoustic recorder affected the number of vocalizations. Beluga vocalizations within the range of the acoustic recorder decreased significantly when vessels were within 5 km of the acoustic recorder. This result suggests either that belugas are avoiding the vessel or that they reduce their vocalization in response to vessel traffic. Future work is needed to assess exactly how belugas are reacting to vessel traffic in this area and what the long-term consequences of these reactions are. Management measures for reducing these impacts must be carefully considered, especially since these vessels are very restricted in where they can travel, and many of the vessels are necessary for the livelihoods of local communities. La circulation maritime a des effets négatifs sur les mammifères marins, car elle entraîne des perturbations comportementales, masque leurs signaux acoustiques et engendre de la contamination (comme des déversements de pétrole) et des collisions. Bien que peu d’études aient examiné les effets des bateaux sur les mammifères marins de l’Arctique, les bélugas semblent particulièrement sensibles à la circulation maritime. Dans cet article, nous examinons en quoi les vocalisations des bélugas sont touchées par la circulation maritime ...