Abstract
MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 626:209-226 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13011 Environmental drivers of beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas habitat use in the Mackenzie Estuary, Northwest Territories, Canada K. Scharffenberg1,*, D. Whalen2, M. Marcoux1,3, J. Iacozza4, G. Davoren1, L. Loseto1,4 1Dept of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada 2Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2Y 4A2, Canada 3Freshwater Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N6, Canada 4Dept of Environment & Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada *Corresponding author: scharffk@myumanitoba.ca ABSTRACT: Understanding drivers of habitat use and selection of mobile species is critical for understanding the impacts of climate change and formulating management plans. Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas form large summering aggregations in the warm, fresh waters of the Mackenzie Estuary, Northwest Territories, Canada; however, the environmental factors driving spatial and temporal patterns of habitat use within the estuary are not fully understood. We used passive acoustic monitoring to record beluga presence during their summer aggregation (June-August) at known congregation areas and locations with unique oceanographic features in Kugmallit Bay in the Mackenzie River Estuary, while simultaneously recording environmental and oceanographic data. The effectiveness of hydrophones at determining beluga presence/absence was validated using shore-based observations. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the influence of environmental conditions on presence/absence of belugas. Results indicate that temporal patterns of habitat use varied by location, and were influenced by environmental conditions such as temperature, salinity, and wind speed. Belugas did not frequent commonly used locations during periods with high-speed winds and moved farther into the estuary during periods of cold oceanic influxes. This study provides support for hypotheses that belugas use the location for moulting or to provide a thermal advantage for young belugas. This information can be used to inform decisions by northern communities and policy makers, thus aiding in management of the Beaufort Sea beluga population. KEY WORDS: Passive acoustic monitoring · Oceanography · Estuarine ecology · Arctic Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Scharffenberg K, Whalen D, Marcoux M, Iacozza J, Davoren G, Loseto L (2019) Environmental drivers of beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas habitat use in the Mackenzie Estuary, Northwest Territories, Canada. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 626:209-226. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13011 Export citation Mail this link - Contents Mailing Lists - RSS Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 626. Online publication date: September 12, 2019 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.
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