Acoustic Detections of Beluga Whales in the Northeastern Chukchi Sea, July 2007 to July 2008

Delarue, Julien; Laurinolli, Marjo; Martin, Bruce

doi:10.14430/arctic4076

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Two peaks in vocal activity occurred in spring on this mooring; the first spring peak occurred from 23 April to 6 May and the second spring peak occurred from 18 May to 1 June (Garland et al, 2015). Results from satellitemonitored belugas, aerial surveys, and other acoustical studies indicate that both peaks likely corresponded to the eastern Beaufort Sea population migrating north through the northeastern Chukchi en route to their Canadian Beaufort summering grounds (Suydam, 2009;Delarue et al, 2011;Clarke et al, 2012;Hauser et al, 2014). The first spring peak spanning 14 days (April to May) was used in the current paper to ensure there was no interference from the eastern Chukchi Sea population, which follows the eastern Beaufort population out of the Bering Sea through the northeastern Chukchi later in the season (late June-early July; Suydam, 2009;Clarke et al, 2012;Hauser et al, 2014).…”

Section: Selection Of Recordingsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) vocalizations and call classification from the eastern Beaufort Sea population

Garland

Castellote

Berchok

2015

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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Beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas, have a graded call system; call types exist on a continuum making classification challenging. A description of vocalizations from the eastern Beaufort Sea beluga population during its spring migration are presented here, using both a non-parametric classification tree analysis (CART), and a Random Forest analysis. Twelve frequency and duration measurements were made on 1019 calls recorded over 14 days off Icy Cape, Alaska, resulting in 34 identifiable call types with 83% agreement in classification for both CART and Random Forest analyses. This high level of agreement in classification, with an initial subjective classification of calls into 36 categories, demonstrates that the methods applied here provide a quantitative analysis of a graded call dataset. Further, as calls cannot be attributed to individuals using single sensor passive acoustic monitoring efforts, these methods provide a comprehensive analysis of data where the influence of pseudo-replication of calls from individuals is unknown. This study is the first to describe the vocal repertoire of a beluga population using a robust and repeatable methodology. A baseline eastern Beaufort Sea beluga population repertoire is presented here, against which the call repertoire of other seasonally sympatric Alaskan beluga populations can be compared.

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Section: Selection Of Recordingsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) vocalizations and call classification from the eastern Beaufort Sea population

Garland

Castellote

Berchok

2015

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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“…The availability of long-term acoustic recording devices has enabled investigation of the acoustic behavior and seasonal occurrence of marine mammals in places and at times where ship-and aerial-based or on-ice studies have not been feasible. These acoustic studies provide details on species distributions and movements, reproductive behavior, and population structure (e.g., Širović et al, 2004;Delarue et al, 2011;Risch et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ringed, Bearded, and Ribbon Seal Vocalizations North of Barrow, Alaska: Seasonal Presence and Relationship with Sea Ice

Jones¹,

Thayre²,

Roth³

et al. 2014

ARCTIC

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ABSTRACT. The acoustic repertoires of ringed, bearded, and ribbon seals are described, along with their seasonal occurrence and relationship to sea ice concentration. Acoustic recordings were made between September and June over three years (2006 -09) along the continental slope break in the Chukchi Sea, 120 km north-northwest of Barrow, Alaska. Vocalizations of ringed and bearded seals occurred in winter and during periods of 80% -100% ice cover but were mostly absent during open water periods. The presence of ringed and bearded seal calls throughout winter and spring suggests that some portion of their population is overwintering. Analysis of the repertoire of ringed and bearded seal calls shows seasonal variation. Ringed seal calls are primarily barks in winter and yelps in spring, while bearded seal moans increase during spring. Ribbon seal calls were detected only in the fall of 2008 during the open water period. The repertoire of known ribbon seal vocalizations was expanded to include three additional calls, and two stereotyped call sequences were common. Retrospective analyses of ringed seal recordings from 1982 and ribbon seal recordings from 1967 showed a high degree of stability in call repertoire across large spatial and temporal scales.Key words: ringed seal, bearded seal, ribbon seal, Arctic phocid, call repertoire, seasonality, vocalization, sea ice RÉSUMÉ. Le répertoire acoustique des phoques annelés, des phoques barbus et des phoques à bandes sont décrits, de même que leur présence saisonnière et leur rapport avec la concentration de glace de mer. Des enregistrements acoustiques ont été effectués entre septembre et juin sur une période de trois ans (2006 -2009), le long de la rupture de la pente continentale, dans la mer des Tchouktches, à 120 km au nord-nord-ouest de Barrow, en Alaska. Les vocalisations de phoques annelés et de phoques barbus étaient présentes pendant l'hiver et pendant les périodes où la concentration de glace était de 80 % à 100 %, mais elles se faisaient rares pendant les périodes d'eau libre. La présence des cris de phoques annelés et de phoques barbus tout au long de l'hiver et du printemps suggère qu'une partie de leur population hiverne. L'analyse du répertoire de cris de phoques annelés et de phoques barbus indique une variation saisonnière. L'hiver, le cri du phoque annelé prend principalement la forme d'aboiements, tandis que le printemps, il prend la forme de glapissements. Les gémissements du phoque barbu s'intensifient au printemps. Le cri des phoques à bandes n'a été capté qu'à l'automne 2008, pendant la période des eaux libres. Le répertoire des vocalisations connues du phoque à bandes a été élargi pour inclure trois autres cris, bien que deux séquences de cris stéréotypées étaient courantes. L'analyse rétrospective des enregistrements de cris de phoques annelés de 1982 et de phoques à bandes de 1967 a laissé entrevoir une grande stabilité du point de vue du répertoire des cris, et ce, sur de vastes échelles spatiales et temporelles.Mots clés : phoque annelé, pho...

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“…While their echolocation frequencies are ultrasonic (30 to 120 kHz; Au et al 1987), their frequency-and amplitude-modulated calls range from 2 kHz to 20 kHz and are audible to humans (Sjare & Smith 1986a, Belikov & Bel'kovich 2003. These vocalizations can be detected by hydrophones up to 8 km away in Arctic waters (Delarue et al 2011), and the number of vocalizations recorded is positively correlated to the number of whales present (Simard et al 2010). Beluga whales are more vocal when milling or socializing, behaviors that may indicate foraging, than when traveling (Sjare & Smith 1986b, Karlsen et al 2002, and they have been documented to whistle when feeding (Mymrin et al 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation of a strong Alaska Coastal Current with the presence of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas near Barrow, Alaska

Stafford¹,

Okkonen²,

Clarke³

2013

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Oceanographic features and physical processes in the ocean can create regions where prey, and therefore predators, may accumulate. Beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas are the most numerous cetacean in the Arctic. In the Alaskan Beaufort Sea, they prefer continental slope habitat in summer and autumn, presumably because such areas provide enhanced foraging opportunities. Passive acoustic detections of beluga whale calls, current velocity measurements, historical wind records, and 29 yr of beluga whale observations from aerial surveys were used to explore the hypothesis that the foraging success of beluga whales in Barrow Canyon and along the western Beaufort Sea slope is enhanced when the Alaska Coastal Current (ACC) is welldeveloped and flows east-northeastward and is diminished when the flow of the ACC and its shelf break extension are reversed. Aerial sightings of beluga whales, average observed beluga whale group size, and hours with whale vocalizations were more common when the ACC was welldeveloped and flowed east-northeastward. When the ACC flow is strong, it is separated from Arctic basin waters by a well-defined front that promotes aggregation of prey species. We speculate that the greater numbers of animals per group sighted and hours with recorded vocalizations may be indicative of enhanced foraging opportunities for beluga whales.KEY WORDS: Beluga whale · Delphinapterus leucas · Alaska Coastal Current · Aerial survey · Passive acoustic monitoring Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher Editorial responsibility:

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Acoustic Detections of Beluga Whales in the Northeastern Chukchi Sea, July 2007 to July 2008

Cited by 12 publications

References 22 publications

Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) vocalizations and call classification from the eastern Beaufort Sea population

Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) vocalizations and call classification from the eastern Beaufort Sea population

Ringed, Bearded, and Ribbon Seal Vocalizations North of Barrow, Alaska: Seasonal Presence and Relationship with Sea Ice

Correlation of a strong Alaska Coastal Current with the presence of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas near Barrow, Alaska

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