Seasonal patterns in marine mammal vocalizations in the western Canadian Arctic

Abstract

The Arctic marine environment is changing rapidly through a combination of sea ice loss and increased anthropogenic activity. Given that these changes can affect marine animals in a variety of ways, understanding the spatial and temporal distributions of Arctic marine animals is imperative. Here, we use passive acoustic monitoring to examine the presence of marine mammals in the western Canadian Arctic, where we have had recorders deployed near the communities of Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada. At both sites, we documented bowhead and beluga whales during the ice-free season, bearded seals throughout the ice-covered season and during their mating season, and ringed seals throughout the year. The sites also had different patterns in marine mammal presence, where we found whales later into the year at Ulukhaktok than at Sachs Harbour, and ringed seals vocalized much more at Ulukhaktok than at Sachs Harbour. These patterns in vocal activity at both sites help to document the presence of each species in the western Canadian Arctic, and serve as a baseline for future monitoring in the region. Next steps in this project involve deploying at more sites throughout the region to more comprehensively monitor marine mammals in the region.