Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) habitat selection in the eastern Beaufort Sea in spring, 1975–1979

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Polar Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

An understanding of the adaptability of belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) to changing ice conditions is required to interpret and predict possible changes in habitat selection in response to projected loss of sea ice throughout the circumpolar Arctic. We analyzed beluga observations made during spring aerial surveys for ringed seals conducted from 1975 to 1979 in the eastern Beaufort Sea. Despite inter-annual variability in the extent and distribution of sea ice, belugas consistently selected areas with water depths of 200–500 m and heavy ice concentrations (8/10 to 10/10) while areas of open water to light ice concentrations (0/10 to 1/10) were not selected. Belugas were also found in proximity to regions with ≥0.5 degrees seafloor slope which include the continental slope and other areas with the potential for oceanographic upwellings. In most years (4 of 5), fast-ice edges and coastal areas were not selected. In the lightest ice year analyzed, belugas showed less specificity in habitat selection as their distribution expanded and shifted shoreward to fast-ice edges. The observed distribution is discussed in terms of predator–prey relationships particularly with reference to beluga feeding on polar cod (Boreogadus saida). More research is required to examine and compare possible changes in distribution since the late 1970s and to investigate the factors driving the patterns described.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aagaard K, Pease CH, Roach AT, Salo SA (1989) Beaufort Sea mesoscale circulation study-final report. NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL PMEL-90, Seattle

  • Aebischer NJ, Robertson PA, Kenward RE (1993) Compositional analysis of habitat use from animal radio-tracking data. Ecology 74:1313–1325

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ainley DG, Tynan CT, Stirling I (2003) Sea ice: a critical habitat for polar marine mammals and birds. In: Thomas DN, Dieckmann GS (eds) Sea ice: an introduction to its physics, chemistry and biology and geology. Blackwell Science Ltd, Oxford, pp 240–266

    Google Scholar 

  • Arrigo KR, van Dijken GL (2004) Annual cycles of sea ice and phytoplankton in Cape Bathurst polynyas, southeastern Beaufort Sea, Canadian Arctic. Geophys Res Lett 31. doi:10.1029/2003GL018978

  • Asche GP (1972) The omega system of global navigation. Int Hydrogr Rev 50:87–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Barber DG, Hanesiak JM (2004) Meteorological forcing of sea ice concentrations in the southern Beaufort Sea over the period 1979 to 2000. J Geophys Res 109. doi:10.1029/2003JC002027

  • Barber DG, Saczuk E, Richard PR (2001) Examination of beluga-habitat relationships through the use of telemetry and a geographic information system. Arctic 54:305–316

    Google Scholar 

  • Barber DG, Lukovich JV, Keogak J, Baryluk S, Fortier L, Henry GHR (2008) The changing climate of the Arctic. Arctic 61:7–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Barry TW (1976) Seabirds of the southeastern Beaufort Sea: summary report. Beaufort Sea Tech Rep 3a

  • Benoit D, Simard Y, Fortier L (2008) Hydroacoustic detection of large winter aggregations of Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) at depth in ice-covered Franklin Bay (Beaufort Sea). J Geophys Res 113. doi:10.1029/2007JC004276

  • Bingham RL, Brennan LA (2004) Comparison of type 1 error rates for statistical analyses of resource selection. J Wildl Manage 68:206–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradstreet MSW (1982) Occurrence, habitat use and behavior of seabirds, marine mammals, and Arctic cod at the Pond Inlet ice edge. Arctic 35:28–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradstreet MSW, Finley KJ (1977) Distribution of birds and marine mammals along fast-ice edges in Barrow Strait, N.W.T. Prepared by LGL Ltd. Toronto, ON for Polar Gas Project

  • Bradstreet MSW, Finley KJ, Sekerak AD, Griffiths WB, Evans CR, Fabijan, MF, Stallard HE (1986) Aspects of the biology of Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) and its importance in Arctic marine food chains. Can Tech Rep Fish Aquat Sci 1491

  • Brown Gladden JG, Ferguson MM, Friesen MK, Clayton JW (1999) Population structure of North American beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) based on nuclear DNA microsatellite variation and contrasted with the population structure revealed by mitochondrial DNA variation. Mol Ecol 8:347–363

    Google Scholar 

  • Byers CR, Steinhorst RK, Krausman PR (1984) Clarification of a technique for analysis of utilization-availability data. J Wildl Manage 48:1050–1053

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canadian Ice Service Archive Documentation Series (2006) Regional charts: history, accuracy and caveats. http://www.ice.ec.gc.ca/IA_DOC/cisads_no_001_e.pdf. Accessed 24 March 2010

  • Carmack E, Chapman DC (2003) Wind-driven shelf/basin exchange on an Arctic shelf: the joint roles of ice cover extent and shelf-break bathymetry. Geophys Res Lett 30. doi:10.1029/2003GL017526

  • Carmack EC, Macdonald RW, Jasper S (2004) Phytoplankton productivity on the Canadian shelf of the Beaufort Sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 277:37–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coachman LK, Aagaard K (1974) Physical oceanography of Arctic and Subarctic seas. In: Herman Y (ed) Marine geology and oceanography of the arctic seas. Springer, New York, pp 1–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Conner LM, Plowman BW (2001) Using Euclidean distances to assess nonrandom habitat use. In: Millspaugh JJ, Marzluff JM (eds) Radio tracking and animal populations. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 275–289

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cosens SE, Dueck LP (1991) Group size and activity patterns of belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) and narwhals (Monodon monoceros) during spring migration in Lancaster Sound. Can J Zool 69:1630–1635

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford R, Jorgenson J (1990) Density distribution of fish in the presence of whales at the Admiralty Inlet land fast ice edge. Arctic 43:215–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawford RE, Jorgenson JK (1993) Schooling behaviour of Arctic cod, Boreogadus saida, in relation to drifting pack ice. Environ Biol Fish 36:345–357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cushing DH (1990) Plankton production and year-class strength in fish populations: an update of the match/mismatch hypothesis. Adv Mar Biol 26:249–293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahl TM, Lydersen C, Kovacs KM, Falk-Pertersen S, Sargent J, Gjertz I, Gulliksen B (2000) Fatty acid composition of the blubber in white whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Polar Biol 23:401–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis RW, Fargion GS, May N, Leming TD, Baumgartner M, Evans WE, Hansen LJ, Mullin K (1998) Physical habitat of cetaceans along the continental slope in the north-central and western gulf of Mexico. Mar Mamm Sci 14:490–507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Fisheries and Oceans (2002) Underwater world: Beluga. Communications Directorate, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar MJ (1981) Physical causes and biological significance of polynyas and other open water in sea ice. In: Stirling I, Cleator H (eds) Polynyas in the Canadian Arctic. Can Wildl Serv Occas Pap 45:29–43

  • Fay FH (1974) The role of ice in the ecology of marine mammals of the Bering Sea. In: Hood DW, Kelley EJ (eds) Oceanography of the Bering Sea with emphasis on renewable resources. Vail-Ballou Press, Inc., USA, pp 383–399

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraker MA (1979) Spring migration of bowhead (Balaena mysticetus) and white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the Beaufort Sea. Can Fish Mar Serv Tech Rep 859

  • Galley RJ, Key E, Barber DG, Hwang BJ, Ehn JK (2008) Spatial and temporal variability of sea ice in the southern Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf: 1980–2004. J Geophys Res 113. doi:10.1029/2007JC004553

  • Geoffroy M, Robert D, Darnis G, Fortier L (2011) Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) aggregating behaviour in the Amundsen Gulf (southeastern Beaufort Sea) in winter: a hydroacoustic study. Polar Biol (This issue)

  • Gradinger RR, Bluhm BA (2004) In situ observations on the distribution and behavior of amphipods and Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) under the sea ice of the High Arctic Canada Basin. Polar Biol 27:595–603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grainger EH (1975) Biological productivity of the southern Beaufort Sea: the physical-chemical environment and the plankton. Beaufort Sea Tech Rep 12a

  • Hammill MO (1987) The effects of weather on ice conditions in the Amundsen Gulf, N.W.T. Can Manuscr Rep Fish Aquat Sci 1900

  • Harwood LA, Smith TG (2002) Whales of the Inuvialuit settlement region in Canada’s Western Arctic: an overview and outlook. Arctic 55:77–93

    Google Scholar 

  • Heide-Jørgensen MP, Teilmann J (1994) Growth, reproduction, age structure and feeding habits of white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in west Greenland waters. Medd Grøn Biosci 39:195–212

    Google Scholar 

  • Heide-Jørgensen MP, Hammeken N, Dietz R, Orr J, Richard PR (2001) Surfacing times and dive rates for narwhals (Monodon monoceros) and belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Arctic 54:284–298

    Google Scholar 

  • Heide-Jørgensen MP, Laidre KL, Borchers D, Marques TA, Stern H, Simon M (2010) The effects of sea-ice loss on beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland. Polar Res 29:198–208. doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.2009.00142.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herlinveaux RH, de Lange Boom BR (1975) Physical oceanography of the southeastern Beaufort Sea. Beaufort Sea Tech Rep 18

  • Higdon JW, Hauser DDW, Ferguson SH (2010) Killer whales in the Canadian Arctic: distribution, prey items, group sizes and seasonality. Mar Mamm Sci. Accepted with revisions (October 2010)

  • Hobbs RC, Laidre KL, Vos DJ, Mahoney BA, Eagleton M (2005) Movements and area use of belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in a Subarctic Alaskan estuary. Arctic 58:331–340

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntington HP, The communities of Buckland, Elim, Koyuk, Point Lay and Shaktoolik (1999) Traditional knowledge of the ecology of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the eastern Chukchi and northern Bering Seas, Alaska. Arctic 52:49–61

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL (eds) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  • Jakobsson M, Macnab R, Mayer L, Anderson R, Edwards M, Hatzky J, Schenke HW, Johnson P (2008) An improved bathymetric portrayal of the Arctic Ocean: implications for ocean modeling and geological, geophysical and oceanographic analyses. Geophys Res Lett 35. doi:10.1029/2008GL033520

  • Kane EA, Marshall CD (2009) Comparative feeding kinematics and performance of odontocetes: belugas, Pacific white-sided dolphins and long-finned pilot whales. J Exp Biol 212:3939–3950

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kenward RE (2001) Historical and practical perspectives. In: Millspaugh JJ, Marzluff JM (eds) Radio tracking and animal populations. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 3–12

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kingsley MCS (1984) The abundance of ringed seals in the Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf, 1983. Can Manuscr Rep Fish Aquat Sci 1778

  • Kingsley MCS, Reeves RR (1998) Aerial surveys of cetaceans in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1995 and 1996. Can J Zool 76:1529–1550

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleinenberg SE, Yablokov AV, Bel’kovich BM, Tarasevich MN (1964) Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) investigation of the species. Academy of sciences of the USSR. Translated from Russian by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations (1969), Jerusalem

  • Laidre KL, Shelden KEW, Rugh DJ, Mahoney BA (2000) Beluga, Delphinapterus leucas, distribution and survey effort in the Gulf of Alaska. Mar Fish Rev 62:27–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Laidre KL, Stirling I, Lowry LF, Wiig Ø, Heide-Jørgensen MP, Ferguson SH (2008) Quantifying the sensitivity of Arctic marine mammals to climate-induced habitat change. Ecol Appl 18:S97–S125

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leban FA, Wisdom MJ, Garton EO, Johnson BK, Kie JG (2001) Effect of sample size on the performance of resource selection analyses. In: Millspaugh JJ, Marzluff JM (eds) Radio tracking and animal populations. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 291–307

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lønne OJ, Gulliksen B (1989) Size, age and diet of polar cod, Boreogadus saida (Lepechin 1773), in ice covered waters. Polar Biol 9:187–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loseto LL, Richard P, Stern GA, Orr J, Ferguson SH (2006) Segregation of Beaufort Sea beluga whales during the open-water season. Can J Zool 84:1743–1751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loseto LL, Stern GA, Connelly TL, Deibel D, Gemmill B, Prokopowicz A, Fortier L, Ferguson SH (2009) Summer diet of beluga whales inferred by fatty acid analysis of the eastern Beaufort Sea food web. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 374:12–18

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lowry LF, Nelson RR, Frost KJ (1987) Observations of killer whales, Orcinus orca, in western Alaska: sightings, strandings and predation on other marine mammals. Can Field Nat 101(1):6–12

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald RW, Wong CS, Erickson PE (1987) The distribution of nutrients in the southeastern Beaufort Sea: implications for water circulation and primary production. J Geophys Res 92:2939–2952

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney A, Eicken H, Gaylord AG, Shapiro L (2007) Alaska landfast sea ice: Links with bathymetry and atmospheric circulation. J. Geophys Res 112. doi:10.1029/2006JC003559

  • Markham WE (1975) Ice climatology of the Beaufort Sea. Beaufort Sea Tech Rep 26

  • Marsh H, Sinclair DF (1989) Correcting for visibility bias in strip transect aerial surveys of aquatic fauna. J Wildl Manag 53:1017–1024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin AR, Smith TG (1992) Deep diving in wild, free-ranging beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 49:462–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin AR, Smith TG (1999) Strategy and capability of wild belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, during deep, benthic diving. Can J Zool 77:1783–1793

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin AR, Smith TG, Cox OP (1998) Dive form and function in belugas Delphinapterus leucas of the eastern Canadian High Arctic. Polar Biol 20:218–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin FA, Carmack EC, Macdonald RW, Bishop JKB (1996) Physical and geochemical properties across the Atlantic/Pacific water mass front in the southern Canadian basin. J Geophys Res 101:1183–1197

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore SE, DeMaster DP, Dayton PK (2000) Cetacean habitat selection in the Alaskan Arctic during summer and autumn. Arctic 53:432–447

    Google Scholar 

  • Mymrin NI, The communities of Novoe Chaplino, Sireniki, Uelen, and Yanrakinnot, Huntington HP (1999) Traditional knowledge of the ecology of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the Northern Bering Sea, Chukotka, Russia. Arctic 52:62–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Neu CW, Byers CR, Peek JM (1974) A technique for analysis of utilization-availability data. J Wildl Manag 38:541–545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parkinson CL, Cavalieri DJ (2008) Arctic sea ice variability and trends, 1979–2006. J Geophys Res 113. doi:10.1029/2007JC004558

  • Percy R, Smiley B, Mullen T (1985) Fishes, invertebrates and marine plants: The Beaufort Sea and the search for oil. Beaufort Sea Project, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ottawa

    Google Scholar 

  • Richard PR, Martin AR, Orr JR (1997) Study of summer and fall movements and dive behaviour of Beaufort Sea belugas, using satellite telemetry: 1992–1995. Environ Stud Res Funds 134

  • Richard PR, Heide-Jørgensen MP, St. Aubin D (1998) Fall movements of belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) with satellite-linked transmitters in Lancaster Sound, Jones Sound, and northern Baffin Bay. Arctic 51:5–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Richard PR, Heide-Jørgensen MP, Orr JR, Dietz R, Smith TG (2001a) Summer and autumn movements and habitat use by belugas in the Canadian High Arctic and adjacent areas. Arctic 54:207–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Richard PR, Martin AR, Orr JR (2001b) Summer and autumn movements of belugas of the Eastern Beaufort Sea stock. Arctic 54:223–236

    Google Scholar 

  • Richard PR, Laake JL, Hobbs RC, Heide-Jørgensen MP, Asselin NC, Cleator H (2010) Baffin Bay narwhal population distribution and numbers: aerial surveys in the Canadian High Arctic, 2002–2004. Arctic 63:85–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Seaman GA, Lowry LF, Frost KJ (1982) Foods of Belukha whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in western Alaska. Cetology 44:1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Sekerak AD, Richardson WJ (1978) Studies of the ecology of fast-ice edges in the high Arctic. LGL Limited environmental research associates, Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith TG, Martin AR (1994) Distribution and movements of belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in the Canadian high arctic. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 51:1653–1663

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling I (1980) The biological importance of polynyas in the Canadian Arctic. Arctic 33:303–315

    Google Scholar 

  • Stirling I (1997) The importance of polynyas, ice edges, and leads to marine mammals and birds. J Mar Syst 10:9–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling I, Archibald WR, DeMaster D (1977) Distribution and abundance of seals in the eastern Beaufort Sea. J Fish Res Board Can 34:976–988

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling I, Kingsley M, Calvert W (1982) The distribution and abundance of seals in the eastern Beaufort Sea, 1974–1979. Can Wildl Serv Occas Pap 47

  • Suydam RS, Lowry LF, Frost KJ, O’Corry-Crowe GM, Pikok D Jr (2001) Satellite tracking of eastern Chukchi Sea beluga whales into the Arctic Ocean. Arctic 54:237–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiemann GW, Iverson SJ, Stirling I (2008) Polar bear diets and Arctic marine food webs: insights from fatty acid analysis. Ecol Monogr 78:591–613

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wacasey JW (1975) Biological productivity of the Southern Beaufort Sea: zoobenthic studies. Beaufort Sea Tech Rep 12b

  • Williams WJ, Carmack EC (2008) Combined effect of wind-forcing and isobath divergence on upwelling at Cape Bathurst, Beaufort Sea. J Mar Res 66:645–663

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams WJ, Carmack EC, Shimada K, Melling H, Aagaard K, Macdonald RW, Ingram RG (2006) Joint effects of wind and ice motion in forcing upwelling in Mackenzie Trough, Beaufort Sea. Cont Shelf Res 26:2352–2366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong CS, MacDonald RW, Bellegay RD, Erickson P (1981) Baseline data on chemical oceanography in the southern Beaufort Sea, 1974–1975. Beaufort Sea Tech Rep 14

Download references

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of several field assistants in conducting the aerial surveys by Canadian Wildlife Service for seals and related sightings of other marine mammals in the eastern Beaufort Sea from 1975 to 1979, and Douglas DeMaster and Michael C.S. Kingsley for data tabulation and statistical analyses related to those surveys. Subsequent analyses of habitat selection by the belugas recorded on these surveys were supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and ArcticNet. This is a contribution arising from the International Polar Year (IPY) Circumpolar Flaw Lead (CFL) System Study project.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Earth Observation Science, Department of Environment and Geography, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Natalie C. Asselin & David G. Barber

  2. Environment Canada, 5320-122nd Street NW, Edmonton, AB, T6H 3S5, Canada

    Ian Stirling

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada

    Ian Stirling

  4. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Steven H. Ferguson & Pierre R. Richard

Authors
  1. Natalie C. Asselin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David G. Barber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ian Stirling
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Steven H. Ferguson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Pierre R. Richard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natalie C. Asselin.

Additional information

This article belongs to the special issue “Circumpolar Flaw Lead Study (CFL)”, coordinated by J. Deming and L. Fortier.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Asselin, N.C., Barber, D.G., Stirling, I. et al. Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) habitat selection in the eastern Beaufort Sea in spring, 1975–1979. Polar Biol 34, 1973–1988 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-0990-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-011-0990-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation