A shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the threatened Cumberland Sound population may reflect a changing Arctic food web

Watt, Cortney A.; Orr, Jack; Ferguson, Steven H.

doi:10.3354/esr00768

Cited by 35 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(76 reference statements)

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“…They had larger home ranges and spent less time near glacier fronts and more time in the centre of fjords (figure 2; electronic supplementary material, figure S2) in 2013-2016 compared with 1995-2001 [16]. It is likely that they have shifted to foraging on Atlantic prey such as capelin (Mallotus villosus) and herring (Clupea harengus), similar to the situation in the Canadian Arctic [23]. WW have been observed milling in the centre of fjords in recent years, which was never seen previously in Svalbard waters (K.M.K.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Contrasting changes in space use induced by climate change in two Arctic marine mammal species

et al. 2019

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Global warming is inducing major environmental changes in the Arctic. These changes will differentially affect species owing to differences in climate sensitivity and behavioural plasticity. Arctic endemic marine mammals are expected to be impacted significantly by ongoing changes in their key habitats owing to their long life cycles and dependence on ice. Herein, unique biotelemetry datasets for ringed seals (RS; Pusa hispida) and white whales (WW; Delphinapterus leucas) from Svalbard, Norway, spanning two decades are used to investigate how these species have responded to reduced sea-ice cover and increased Atlantic water influxes. Tidal glacier fronts were traditionally important foraging areas for both species. Following a period with dramatic environmental change, RS now spend significantly more time near tidal glaciers, where Arctic prey presumably still concentrate. Conversely, WW spend significantly less time near tidal glacier fronts and display spatial patterns that suggest that they are foraging on Atlantic fishes that are new to the region. Differences in levels of dietary specialization and overall behavioural plasticity are likely reasons for similar environmental pressures affecting these species differently. Climate change adjustments through behavioural plasticity will be vital for species survival in the Arctic, given the rapidity of change and limited dispersal options.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Contrasting changes in space use induced by climate change in two Arctic marine mammal species

et al. 2019

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“…In this study, the diving behaviour of this stock has been found to be similarly conservative; dives are generally shallow and of short duration compared to white whales in other areas. Average Dmax for white whales in other localities are 40-50 m (Martin et al 1998;Hauser et al 2015;Watt et al 2016). Some exceptions to this generality occur in summering areas, where white whales visit extremely shallow areas in Hudson Bay and the St Lawrence Estuary for short periods (Kingsley et al 2001;Martin et al 2001;Lemieux Lefebvre et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Since the early 1990s, movement patterns of white whales have been studied in various parts of the Arctic using satellite telemetry (Martin et al 1993;Smith & Martin 1994;Richard et al 1997;Richard et al 1998;Lydersen et al 2001;Richard et al 2001;Reeves et al 2014;Hauser et al 2017). Highly variable movement patterns have been described, with some stocks undertaking large-scale annual migrations between summering and wintering sites (Richard et al 2001), while others remain in the same area year-round, shifting offshore only when excluded from coastal habitat by land-fast sea ice formation (e.g., Moore et al 2000;Watt et al 2016). The diving behaviour of white whales has also been studied in many places in the Arctic and, similar to movement patterns, differs markedly among the various white whale stocks (see Heide-Jørgensen et al 1998;Martin et al 1998;Martin & Smith 1999;Heide-Jørgensen et al 2001;Kingsley et al 2001;Martin et al 2001;Richard et al 2001;Bailleul et al 2012;Hauser et al 2015;Watt et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Highly variable movement patterns have been described, with some stocks undertaking large-scale annual migrations between summering and wintering sites (Richard et al 2001), while others remain in the same area year-round, shifting offshore only when excluded from coastal habitat by land-fast sea ice formation (e.g., Moore et al 2000;Watt et al 2016). The diving behaviour of white whales has also been studied in many places in the Arctic and, similar to movement patterns, differs markedly among the various white whale stocks (see Heide-Jørgensen et al 1998;Martin et al 1998;Martin & Smith 1999;Heide-Jørgensen et al 2001;Kingsley et al 2001;Martin et al 2001;Richard et al 2001;Bailleul et al 2012;Hauser et al 2015;Watt et al 2016). Generally, white whales dive to an average depth of 40-50 m (Martin et al 1998;Hauser et al 2015;Watt et al 2016), except when occupying extremely shallow areas such as Hudson Bay or the St Lawrence Estuary (Kingsley et al 2001;Martin et al 2001;Lemieux Lefebvre et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The diving behaviour of white whales has also been studied in many places in the Arctic and, similar to movement patterns, differs markedly among the various white whale stocks (see Heide-Jørgensen et al 1998;Martin et al 1998;Martin & Smith 1999;Heide-Jørgensen et al 2001;Kingsley et al 2001;Martin et al 2001;Richard et al 2001;Bailleul et al 2012;Hauser et al 2015;Watt et al 2016). Generally, white whales dive to an average depth of 40-50 m (Martin et al 1998;Hauser et al 2015;Watt et al 2016), except when occupying extremely shallow areas such as Hudson Bay or the St Lawrence Estuary (Kingsley et al 2001;Martin et al 2001;Lemieux Lefebvre et al 2018). When offshore, white whales routinely undertake deep, prolonged dives to depths of 300-600 m (Martin & Smith 1992Martin et al 1993;Martin et al 1998) and often dive to the seabed when foraging (Heide-Jørgensen et al 1998;Martin et al 1998;Martin & Smith 1999;Martin et al 2001;Hauser et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diving behaviour of adult male white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Svalbard, Norway

2019

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Bt: bottom time (duration in seconds) Dmax: maximum depth recorded for a given dive (in metres) Dt: dive time (duration in seconds) residual Bt_DDt: residual of the relationship between the bottom duration and both the maximum depth and the dive duration SD: standard deviation SE: standard error SRDL: satellite-relay data logger St: surface time (duration in seconds), i.e., time spent at the surface between dives

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Possible niche compression and individual specialization in Pacific Arctic beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) from the 19th to 20th century

Fraleigh

Archer

Williard

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Globally the marine environment has been undergoing rapid change due to anthropogenic activities (Field et al., 2014;Gattuso et al., 2018). This is especially true for the high-latitude oceans, where warming is occurring faster than the rest of the world (Blunden & Arndt, 2016;Neukermans et al., 2018). In the Pacific Arctic, changing environmental conditions have been documented in the area where the North Pacific meets the Arctic Ocean encompassing the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi Seas, including dramatic reductions in sea ice extent (Grebmeier et al., 2010), shifts in biological communities (Brodeur et al., 2008;Will et al., 2020), changes in patterns of primary production (Arrigo & van Dijken, 2015), and alterations in species phenology (e.g., timing of phytoplankton blooms, ice dynamics, and species migrations and reproduction; Hill et al., 2018;Moore, 2016). How species will fare in the Pacific Arctic during this

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A shift in foraging behaviour of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas from the threatened Cumberland Sound population may reflect a changing Arctic food web

Cited by 35 publications

References 49 publications

Contrasting changes in space use induced by climate change in two Arctic marine mammal species

Contrasting changes in space use induced by climate change in two Arctic marine mammal species

Diving behaviour of adult male white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Svalbard, Norway

Possible niche compression and individual specialization in Pacific Arctic beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) from the 19th to 20th century

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