Passive acoustic monitoring of Cook Inlet beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)

2013 ◽  
Vol 134 (3) ◽  
pp. 2497-2504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc O. Lammers ◽  
Manuel Castellote ◽  
Robert J. Small ◽  
Shannon Atkinson ◽  
Justin Jenniges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Passive Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Cook Inlet ◽  
Beluga Whales ◽  
Passive Acoustic

scholarly journals Seasonal distribution and foraging occurrence of Cook Inlet beluga whales based on passive acoustic monitoring

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 225-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Castellote ◽  
RJ Small ◽  
MO Lammers ◽  
J Jenniges ◽  
J Mondragon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Seasonal Distribution ◽  
Substantial Contribution ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Passive Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Cook Inlet ◽  
Beluga Whales ◽  
Endangered Population ◽  
Passive Acoustic

A paucity of information on the basic biology and ecology of Cook Inlet beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas remains a decade after the species was listed as endangered in 2008. The causes of its continued decline remain unclear. This lack of knowledge limits our understanding of, and ability to manage, potential threats impeding the recovery of this endangered population. Seasonal distribution and foraging ecology, particularly during winter, are currently among the most basic gaps in knowledge. Therefore, we conducted a year-round passive acoustic monitoring program from 2008-2013, monitoring 13 locations within the belugas’ critical habitat. We identified seasonal occurrence patterns across years at most locations. Detections were higher in the upper inlet during summer, peaking in known concentration areas. The occurrence of whales in the upper inlet when ice coverage peaked during winter was more prevalent than previously suggested. We documented seasonal differences in foraging habitat preference, with foraging behavior more prevalent during summer, particularly near upper inlet rivers, than during winter. Foraging peaks coincided with the presence of different anadromous fish runs from spring to fall. Low levels of feeding activity in winter suggest a lack of feeding aggregation areas, feeding in non-monitored offshore waters, or increased effort on benthic prey. These results represent a substantial contribution to our knowledge of Cook Inlet beluga seasonal distribution and foraging ecology, which will strengthen conservation and management strategies and thus more effectively promote recovery of this endangered population.

scholarly journals Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) acoustic foraging behavior and applications for long term monitoring

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0260485
Author(s):  
Manuel Castellote ◽  
Aran Mooney ◽  
Russel Andrews ◽  
Stacy Deruiter ◽  
Wu-Jung Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Healthy Population ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Foraging Habitat ◽  
Passive Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Cook Inlet ◽  
Passive Acoustic

Cook Inlet, Alaska, is home to an endangered and declining population of 279 belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Recovery efforts highlight a paucity of basic ecological knowledge, impeding the correct assessment of threats and the development of recovery actions. In particular, information on diet and foraging habitat is very limited for this population. Passive acoustic monitoring has proven to be an efficient approach to monitor beluga distribution and seasonal occurrence. Identifying acoustic foraging behavior could help address the current gap in information on diet and foraging habitat. To address this conservation challenge, eight belugas from a comparative, healthy population in Bristol Bay, Alaska, were instrumented with a multi-sensor tag (DTAG), a satellite tag, and a stomach temperature transmitter in August 2014 and May 2016. DTAG deployments provided 129.6 hours of data including foraging and social behavioral states. A total of 68 echolocation click trains ending in terminal buzzes were identified during successful prey chasing and capture, as well as during social interactions. Of these, 37 click trains were successfully processed to measure inter-click intervals (ICI) and ICI trend in their buzzing section. Terminal buzzes with short ICI (minimum ICI <8.98 ms) and consistently decreasing ICI trend (ICI increment range <1.49 ms) were exclusively associated with feeding behavior. This dual metric was applied to acoustic data from one acoustic mooring within the Cook Inlet beluga critical habitat as an example of the application of detecting feeding in long-term passive acoustic monitoring data. This approach allowed description of the relationship between beluga presence, feeding occurrence, and the timing of spawning runs by different species of anadromous fish. Results reflected a clear preference for the Susitna River delta during eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus), Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), and coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) salmon spawning run periods, with increased feeding occurrence at the peak of the Chinook and pink salmon runs.

Improving passive acoustic monitoring applications to the endangered Cook inlet beluga whale

2019 ◽  
Vol 146 (4) ◽  
pp. 3089-3089
Author(s):  
Ming Zhong ◽  
Manuel Castellote ◽  
Rahul Dodhia ◽  
Juan Lavista Ferres ◽  
Mandy Keogh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Beluga Whale ◽  
Passive Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Cook Inlet ◽  
Monitoring Applications ◽  
Passive Acoustic

Dual instrument passive acoustic monitoring of belugas in Cook Inlet, Alaska

2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (5) ◽  
pp. 2697-2707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Castellote ◽  
Robert J. Small ◽  
Marc O. Lammers ◽  
Justin J. Jenniges ◽  
Jeff Mondragon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Passive Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Cook Inlet ◽  
Passive Acoustic

Acoustic monitoring of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Cook Inlet, Alaska

2011 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 2459-2459
Author(s):  
Manuel Castellote ◽  
Robert J. Small ◽  
Shannon Atkinson ◽  
Marc O. Lammers ◽  
Justin jenniges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Cook Inlet ◽  
Beluga Whales

Acoustic monitoring of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Cook Inlet, Alaska.

2011 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 2371-2371
Author(s):  
Manuel Castellote ◽  
Robert Small ◽  
Shannon Atkinson ◽  
Marc O. Lammers ◽  
Justin Jenniges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Cook Inlet ◽  
Beluga Whales

Acoustic Monitoring of Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Cook Inlet, Alaska

2012 ◽  
pp. 341-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc O. Lammers ◽  
Robert Small ◽  
Shannon Atkinson ◽  
Manuel Castellote ◽  
Justin Jenniges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Cook Inlet ◽  
Beluga Whales
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document