Summer distribution of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the Sea of Okhotsk

Solov’yev, B. A.; Шпак, О. В.; Глазов, Д. М.; Рожнов, В. В.; Kuznetsova, D. M.

doi:10.15298/rusjtheriol.14.2.08

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In other areas of Chukotka, encounters of migratory belugas were only rarely registered during the ice‐free season. Beluga whales mostly occur in the shallow inner parts of the bays and in river estuaries both in our surveys and in previous studies (Solovyev et al, 2015). Beluga whales demonstrate extreme site‐fidelity (O’Corry‐Crowe, 2009), which makes this species especially suitable for area‐based conservation measures.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

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Important areas for cetaceans in Russian Far East waters

Filatova

Hoyt

Burdin

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Cetacean species are highly mobile, most of them regularly travelling over long distances, thereby presenting complex obstacles to their conservation.Identification of their critical habitats, specifically those parts of a cetacean's range that are essential for day-to-day survival and for maintaining a healthy population growth rate, is necessary for their effective protection.2. This study presents a summary of the data on cetacean sightings during surveys that covered substantial parts of the Russian Far East coastal waters from the Okhotsk Sea to Chukotka in order to determine important areas for particular cetacean species. Sixteen cetacean species were registered during the surveys, and for 12 of them with sufficient numbers of sightings, zones with maximum sighting rates were identified. 3. Only 13% of all cetacean sightings and 22% of sightings of protected species occurred within marine protected areas (MPAs). The highest sighting rates for protected species were concentrated off north-eastern Sakhalin Island, in the Shantar Area, in Anadyr Gulf, in Kresta Bay and in the waters off eastern Chukotka. The analysis of the distribution patterns of various cetacean species in Russian Far East seas provides a solid base for future conservation planning. Lack of specific MPAs for protection of cetaceans and associated biodiversity hinders marine conservation in Russian Far East seas. 4. The study highlights the specific zones important for various cetacean species and suggests the extension of some existing MPAs and the creation of new MPAs for future spatial habitat protection measures. K E Y W O R D S biodiversity, critical habitat, dolphins, important marine mammal areas, marine protected areas, whales 1 | INTRODUCTION Cetacean species are highly mobile, most of them regularly travelling over long distances, thereby presenting complex obstacles to their conservation. Spatial protection of the entire home range of foraging toothed whales, much less migrating baleen whales, is impractical.There are, however, strategies to address this problem. The starting point is the identification of critical habitats, specifically those parts of a cetacean's range that are essential for day-to-day survival during specific seasons, as well as for maintaining a healthy population growth rate (Hoyt, 2011). Various criteria have been proposed for defining critical habitats for cetaceans, such as their importance for

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…For beluga whales, habitat selection is highly dependent on prey species. In subarctic and temperate regions, where salmon runs are abundant, they usually concentrate in river estuaries (Lowry et al, 2008; Solovyev et al, 2015). In Arctic seas, estuarine waters play a lesser role in beluga summer distribution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Important areas for cetaceans in Russian Far East waters

Filatova

Hoyt

Burdin

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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“…Many Arctic populations are migratory with some completing annual circuits in excess of 6,000km while subarctic populations are less so, often exhibiting substantial overlap between winter and summer ranges [ 14 – 19 ]. Highly gregarious, beluga whales congregate by the thousands at several geographically discrete nearshore locations following ice-breakup in summer [ 20 , 21 ]. Breeding is believed to occur primarily in winter and early spring [ 22 ], and adult males may select different habitats than females and younger animals at certain times of year [ 16 , 23 – 25 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migratory culture, population structure and stock identity in North Pacific beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)

et al. 2018

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The annual return of beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas, to traditional seasonal locations across the Arctic may involve migratory culture, while the convergence of discrete summering aggregations on common wintering grounds may facilitate outbreeding. Natal philopatry and cultural inheritance, however, has been difficult to assess as earlier studies were of too short a duration, while genetic analyses of breeding patterns, especially across the beluga’s Pacific range, have been hampered by inadequate sampling and sparse information on wintering areas. Using a much expanded sample and genetic marker set comprising 1,647 whales, spanning more than two decades and encompassing all major coastal summering aggregations in the Pacific Ocean, we found evolutionary-level divergence among three geographic regions: the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas, and the Sea of Okhotsk (Φst = 0.11–0.32, Rst = 0.09–0.13), and likely demographic independence of (Fst-mtDNA = 0.02–0.66), and in many cases limited gene flow (Fst-nDNA = 0.0–0.02; K = 5–6) among, summering groups within regions. Assignment tests identified few immigrants within summering aggregations, linked migrating groups to specific summering areas, and found that some migratory corridors comprise whales from multiple subpopulations (PBAYES = 0.31:0.69). Further, dispersal is male-biased and substantial numbers of closely related whales congregate together at coastal summering areas. Stable patterns of heterogeneity between areas and consistently high proportions (~20%) of close kin (including parent-offspring) sampled up to 20 years apart within areas (G = 0.2–2.9, p>0.5) is the first direct evidence of natal philopatry to migration destinations in belugas. Using recent satellite telemetry findings on belugas we found that the spatial proximity of winter ranges has a greater influence on the degree of both individual and genetic exchange than summer ranges (rwinter-Fst-mtDNA = 0.9, rsummer-Fst-nDNA = 0.1). These findings indicate widespread natal philopatry to summering aggregation and entire migratory circuits, and provide compelling evidence that migratory culture and kinship helps maintain demographically discrete beluga stocks that can overlap in time and space.

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“…Overharvesting of beluga whales could result in local depletion of certain nursing aggregations, or summer stocks, in some areas. For the study area, such cases have not been described (possibly due to the lack of stationary long-term observations in unpopulated sites of whaling), but in the Tauysky Bay (the Okhotsk Sea), the summer aggregation of beluga whales, which had regularly visited the bay, disappeared right after the intensive hunting in the early 1930s (Solovyev et al, 2015). It is unknown if the stock was used up or it abandoned this summer feeding ground.…”

Section: Discussion On Data Seriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) catches in the White, Barents, and western Kara seas from 1930 based on original sources

Alekseeva¹,

Шпак²,

Gorbunov³

2019

Rus.J.Theriol.

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The work is based on an analysis of archival documents containing quantitative information on harvests of beluga whales in the White, Barents, and western Kara seas from 1930. Also, information is provided on the possible places where the documents containing data of beluga whaling could still be preserved. The probable causes of the reduction in catches and abundance of beluga whales in the coastal waters of the study areas, observed from the late 1960s, are discussed. How to cite this article:

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Summer distribution of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the Sea of Okhotsk

Cited by 10 publications

References 15 publications

Important areas for cetaceans in Russian Far East waters

Important areas for cetaceans in Russian Far East waters

Migratory culture, population structure and stock identity in North Pacific beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)

The beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) catches in the White, Barents, and western Kara seas from 1930 based on original sources

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