New research from Fisheries and Oceans Canada reveals that male beluga whales in the Eastern Beaufort Sea (EBS) are suffering from the double whammy of climate change and shipping expansion. Despite a year-on-year decline in Arctic sea ice cover, beluga whales stubbornly choose to feed at depths of 350-750 meters, a behavior that is closely linked to the depth of distribution of their staple food, Arctic cod. However, these deep-sea passages are at the heart of the expansion of shipping in the Northwest Passage, and ship noise has been shown to cause belugas to stop feeding. Using satellite tagging technology, the team found that the frequency of beluga dives dropped by 40 percent when ships passed by, significantly reducing their foraging efficiency. More critically, Arctic cod stocks are being displaced by warmer water temperatures, which could radically alter beluga habitat selection patterns.
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