Composition and temporal variation in the diet of beluga whales, derived from stable isotopes
The diet of individuals within a species commonly differs among sex and age classes because of differences in energy requirements and physiological needs. Belugas Delphinapterus leucas show a high level of sexual habitat segregation and dimorphism that could result in differences in diet between the...
Published in: | Marine Ecology Progress Series |
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Online Access: | https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/380 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10029 |
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ftunivwindsor:oai:scholar.uwindsor.ca:glierpub-1382 2023-06-11T04:07:58+02:00 Composition and temporal variation in the diet of beluga whales, derived from stable isotopes Marcoux, Marianne McMeans, Bailey C. Fisk, Aaron T. Ferguson, Steven H. 2012-12-19T08:00:00Z https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/380 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10029 unknown Scholarship at UWindsor https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/380 doi:10.3354/meps10029 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10029 Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications Arctic Marine mammal Monodontidae Time series text 2012 ftunivwindsor https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10029 2023-05-06T19:10:50Z The diet of individuals within a species commonly differs among sex and age classes because of differences in energy requirements and physiological needs. Belugas Delphinapterus leucas show a high level of sexual habitat segregation and dimorphism that could result in differences in diet between the sexes. Here, we used stable isotopes of carbon ( 13C) and nitrogen ( 15N) from muscle and skin samples of 88 belugas, and likely prey species, to investigate how beluga diet in Cumberland Sound (Nunavut, Canada) varied between sexes, among age classes, and over time from 1982 to 2009. Based on linear mixed-effects models, older belugas had higher 13C and 15N than younger individuals of both sexes, suggesting that older individuals feed on more benthic, higher trophic-position prey than younger individuals. We also found a strong, decreasing trend in both 13C and 15N values over time, indicating either a temporal shift in beluga diet or an ecosystem-wide change in isotope values. Based on stable isotope mixing models performed on belugas sampled since 2000, both males and females fed primarily on Arctic cod Boreogadus saida and capelin Mallotus villosus. The latter is a recent invader to this ecosystem, which could explain the temporal shift in stable isotopes of the Cumberland Sound belugas. © Inter-Research 2012. Text Arctic cod Arctic Beluga Beluga* Boreogadus saida Cumberland Sound Delphinapterus leucas Nunavut University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor Arctic Nunavut Canada Cumberland Sound ENVELOPE(-66.014,-66.014,65.334,65.334) Marine Ecology Progress Series 471 283 291 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Windsor, Ontario: Scholarship at UWindsor |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwindsor |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Arctic Marine mammal Monodontidae Time series |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Marine mammal Monodontidae Time series Marcoux, Marianne McMeans, Bailey C. Fisk, Aaron T. Ferguson, Steven H. Composition and temporal variation in the diet of beluga whales, derived from stable isotopes |
topic_facet |
Arctic Marine mammal Monodontidae Time series |
description |
The diet of individuals within a species commonly differs among sex and age classes because of differences in energy requirements and physiological needs. Belugas Delphinapterus leucas show a high level of sexual habitat segregation and dimorphism that could result in differences in diet between the sexes. Here, we used stable isotopes of carbon ( 13C) and nitrogen ( 15N) from muscle and skin samples of 88 belugas, and likely prey species, to investigate how beluga diet in Cumberland Sound (Nunavut, Canada) varied between sexes, among age classes, and over time from 1982 to 2009. Based on linear mixed-effects models, older belugas had higher 13C and 15N than younger individuals of both sexes, suggesting that older individuals feed on more benthic, higher trophic-position prey than younger individuals. We also found a strong, decreasing trend in both 13C and 15N values over time, indicating either a temporal shift in beluga diet or an ecosystem-wide change in isotope values. Based on stable isotope mixing models performed on belugas sampled since 2000, both males and females fed primarily on Arctic cod Boreogadus saida and capelin Mallotus villosus. The latter is a recent invader to this ecosystem, which could explain the temporal shift in stable isotopes of the Cumberland Sound belugas. © Inter-Research 2012. |
format |
Text |
author |
Marcoux, Marianne McMeans, Bailey C. Fisk, Aaron T. Ferguson, Steven H. |
author_facet |
Marcoux, Marianne McMeans, Bailey C. Fisk, Aaron T. Ferguson, Steven H. |
author_sort |
Marcoux, Marianne |
title |
Composition and temporal variation in the diet of beluga whales, derived from stable isotopes |
title_short |
Composition and temporal variation in the diet of beluga whales, derived from stable isotopes |
title_full |
Composition and temporal variation in the diet of beluga whales, derived from stable isotopes |
title_fullStr |
Composition and temporal variation in the diet of beluga whales, derived from stable isotopes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Composition and temporal variation in the diet of beluga whales, derived from stable isotopes |
title_sort |
composition and temporal variation in the diet of beluga whales, derived from stable isotopes |
publisher |
Scholarship at UWindsor |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/380 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10029 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-66.014,-66.014,65.334,65.334) |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavut Canada Cumberland Sound |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavut Canada Cumberland Sound |
genre |
Arctic cod Arctic Beluga Beluga* Boreogadus saida Cumberland Sound Delphinapterus leucas Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Arctic cod Arctic Beluga Beluga* Boreogadus saida Cumberland Sound Delphinapterus leucas Nunavut |
op_source |
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications |
op_relation |
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/glierpub/380 doi:10.3354/meps10029 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10029 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10029 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
471 |
container_start_page |
283 |
op_container_end_page |
291 |
_version_ |
1768381074461687808 |