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Cited by 97Marine animal studies overviewWildlife Ecology and ConservationMarine and fisheries research

Summer and autumn movements and habitat use by belugas in the canadian high arctic and adjacent areas

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Richard, P.R., Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., Orr, J.R., Dietz, R., Smith, T.G.·2001·ARCTIC
DOI 10.14430/arctic782
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Abstract

Twenty-one adult belugas (8M, 13F) were live-captured and instrumented with satellite-linked transmitters in the summer and fall of 1996. Twelve were captured in estuaries along the coast of Somerset Island in July and nine were captured in September in Croker Bay, SE Devon Island. This paper reports on the summer and autumn movements and dive depths of these animals from late July 1996 until the last tags ceased transmitting in November 1996. Of the 12 captured in July, 11 provided data for 30-126 days (mean = 84 days). Most of the animals moved rapidly to southern Peel Sound, where they all spent the month of August, making frequent deep dives, some of which were to depths near or at the seabed of the Franklin Trench. The belugas also used several bays along the coast of Prince of Wales Island and another one on Melville Peninsula. They left southern Peel Sound between late August and early September and moved rapidly to the south coast of Devon Island, many using Maxwell Bay and Croker Bay for several days. All belugas instrumented in Croker Bay in September, as well as the summer-tagged individuals that were still transmitting, moved east and north along the south and east coasts of Devon Island, eventually reaching Jones Sound and north Baffin Bay. They used many bays along the east coast of Devon Island and dove to depths often exceeding 200 m in the surrounding waters. Fifteen of the tags continued to transmit during the period when belugas are normally observed migrating along the West Greenland coast (late September-early October). Only one of the tagged animals moved to Greenland waters in late September. The others remained in the area known in winter as the North Water. The autumn tracking results suggest that the North Water may harbour a larger winter population of belugas than was previously suspected.

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  • Beluga whales live in complex societies with a fission-fusion social structure.

    “Beluga whales are members of the family Monodontidae and like the other mammalian species that demonstrate the capacity for MSR, have large complex brains [19,20] and live in complex societies with a fission-fusion social structure [21–23].”

    From Evidence for mirror self-recognition in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) (2026) · cites this paper as [21]

    The Summer Movements and Area Use section reports large groups of belugas and differences in habitat use among individuals, but does not describe their social relationships. The Conclusions discuss movements and migration, not complex societies or a fission-fusion social structure. Searches for those terms and for group associations found no passage establishing the attributed claim. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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1 of the 23 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [3]3. CARON, L.M.J., and SMITH, T.G. 1990. Philopatry and site tenacity of belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, hunted by the Inuit at the Nastapoka estuary, eastern Hudson Bay. In: Smith, T.G., St. Aubin, D.J., and Geraci, J.R., eds. Advances in research on the beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas. Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 224. 69 -79.
  2. [4]4. DAVIS, R., and FINLEY, K.J. 1979. Distribution, migrations, abundance, and stock identity of Eastern Arctic white whales. International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee Document SC/31/SM10. 44 p. DOIDGE, D.W. 1990. Age-length and length-weight comparisons in the beluga, Delphinapterus leucas. In: Smith, T.G., St. Aubin, D.J., and Geraci, J.R., eds. Advances in research on the beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas. Canadian Bulletin of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 224. 59 -68.
  3. [20]20. MALING, D.H. 1989. Measuring from maps: Principles and methods of cartometry. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 577 p.
  4. [33]33. THOMSEN, M.L. 1993. Local knowledge of the distribution, biology, and hunting of beluga and narwhal. A survey among Inuit hunters in West and North Greenland. Nuuk, Greenland: Inuit Circumpolar Conference. 98 p.

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Authors
Richard, P. R., Heide-Jørgensen, M. P., Orr, J. R., Dietz, R., & Smith, T. G.
Affiliations
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (CA)
Corresponding author
Richard, P.R.
ORCID
Venue
ARCTIC
Publisher
The Arctic Institute of North America
Published
2001-01-01
Volume
54
Issue
3
ISSN
  • 0004-0843 (ISSN-L)
  • 1923-1245
DOI
10.14430/arctic782
OpenAlex
W2159039233
Cited by
97
References
23
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 6
FWCI
6.66
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
ARCTIC (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Pinngortitaleriffik
  • Nunavut Wildlife Management Board
  • Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Marine animal studies overview
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Marine and fisheries research
Keywords
beluga whale, Delphinaptera musculus, habitat use, dive depth, Devon Island, Baffin Bay, winter population, migration, high Arctic

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