Population Genetics of Hudson Bay Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus Leucas) PDF Download

Author: Samuel John Mancuso
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Extrachromosomal DNA.
Languages : en
Pages : 236

View

Book Description

Author: L. D. Maiers
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : DNA fingerprinting
Languages : en
Pages : 0

View

Book Description

Author:
Publisher: Museum Tusculanum Press
ISBN: 9788763512268
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 264

View

Book Description

Author: Steven H. Ferguson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9048191211
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313

View

Book Description
In Arctic Canada, Hudson Bay is a site of great exploration history, aboriginal culture, and a vast marine wilderness supporting large populations of marine mammals and birds. These include some of the most iconic Arctic animals like beluga, narwhal, bowhead whales, and polar bears. Due to the challenges of conducting field research in this region, some of the mysteries of where these animals move, and how they are able to survive in such seemingly inhospitable, ice-choked habitats are just now being unlocked. For example, are polar bears being replaced by killer whales? This new information could not be more salient, as the Hudson Bay Region is undergoing rapid environmental change due to global warming, as well as increased pressures from industrial development interests. A Little Less Arctic brings together some of the world’s leading Arctic scientists to present the current state of knowledge on the physical and biological characteristics of Hudson Bay.

Author: Kristin Westdal
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

View

Book Description
Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are an Arctic cetacean with circumpolar distribution. They are known to have distinct, lengthy and consistent migration paths to and from summer and wintering grounds. The Western Hudson Bay beluga population, the largest summering aggregation in the world, inhabits three main estuaries in the summer season. Little protection is afforded to them here, and little is known of the specific details of their summer distribution and factors affecting that distribution. Using a combination of satellite telemetry, aerial photos, satellite data, and visual observations and historical reports, investigations into factors affecting beluga distribution in Western Hudson Bay were conducted. An examination into beluga age class distribution near the Churchill and Seal River estuaries, using aerial survey imagery, suggested that belugas may not be segregating by age in summer, however the Seal River estuary may be more important from a calf-rearing perspective. Belugas use a greater home range than we would expect, based on historical range data, in the face of predation by their main predator, the killer whale (Orcinus orca). Killer whales are sighted more frequently in Hudson Bay than historically, and results presented here show that ice entrapments, occurring with higher frequency in the future, may impact distribution of beluga as killer whales expand their range and occurrence in Hudson Bay. Finally, an assessment of beluga behaviour in the presence of whale-watching vessels showed that beluga response to vessels varied but the probability of travelling behaviour was significantly greater with distance from vessels; belugas also appear to be spending more time interacting with vessels now, as compared to 15 years ago when there were fewer whale-watching vessels. The results found through this research are useful in informing climate change implications, marine-protected area boundaries, policy and marine spatial planning, and subsistence harvest management.

Author: Canada. Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Central and Arctic Region
Publisher: Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Central and Arctic Region
ISBN:
Category : DNA fingerprinting
Languages : en
Pages : 17

View

Book Description

Author: Julie Turgeon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : White whale
Languages : en
Pages : 14

View

Book Description
There are still concerns from Nunavik hunters about the stock structure of beluga that are hunted in the coastal waters around northern Quebec. The addition of new samples allows the Hudson Bay stock complex to be re-examined. This report also focuses on estimating the contribution of distinct beluga stocks to the harvest of Nunavik sectors and surrounding communities. It provides a new seasonal and regional picture on these contributions by applying a Genetic Mixture Analysis that includes the three stocks that could contribute to the harvest in Northeastern Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, and Ungava Bay. It also addresses the status of whales from Sanikiluaq.

Author: Alexander J. Smith
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

View

Book Description
Most beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) (Pallas 1776) living in areas of seasonal sea ice use estuaries periodically during summer. Beluga estuary-use hypotheses include feeding, calving, moulting, killer whale (Orcinus orca) predation, human predation, thermal advantage, and phylogenetic inertia. The hypotheses may not be mutually exclusive and may vary with populations or regions. This study describes aspects of beluga whale summer-ecology by studying the association between inter-annual water levels and beluga habitat selection in the Nelson River estuary. Flow rates from upstream Limestone Dam doubled from the dry years of 2002-2004 to the wet year of 2005. I used radio-tracking data (N=15, 2002-2005) and aerial surveys (2003, 2005) to test the hypothesis (H1) that belugas were farther out in the estuary during the wet year. Model variables included year, day, time, tide and age-sex. Observed location-habitat distances for the radio-tracking and aerial survey data were compared to the random equivalents using a Kolmogorov-Smimov (KS) test. A cumulative sign test determined the timing of a beluga shift in movement behaviour on August 10th. Pre-August 10th radio-tracking locations provided the spatial-temporal boundary of the Nelson River estuary. General Linear Models (GLM) for both the telemetry and aerial survey data show an association between beluga distance to the river-mouth and year. Study results provide evidence to weigh the main estuary-use hypotheses and contriubte to knowledge of beluga ecology and management.

Author: Andrew E. Dizon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 404

View

Book Description

Author: Lianne Dawn Postma
Publisher: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada
ISBN: 9780612134577
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 194

View

Book Description