Beluga Whale Research and Reports
Status of Five Beluga Stocks
Map of five Alaska beluga whale stocks.
- Beluga Stock Assessments (5 Alaska stocks)
- Molecular Genetic Studies of Population Structure and Movement Patterns in a Migratory Species: The Beluga Whale in the Western Nearctic Greg M. O'Corry-Crowe, et al., 2002
- Map of all five beluga stocks
Research on Bristol Bay Belugas
- Collaborative Studies (Bristol Bay Native Association, Bristol Bay Marine Mammal Council, Alaska Beluga Whale Committee, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Marine Mammal Laboratory, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Togiak Refuge), and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game) external link)
- Trend in aerial counts of beluga or white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Bristol Bay, Alaska, 1993-2005, 2008
- Satellite Tagging: 2003, 2002
- Kvichak Beluga Tagging Study: Are beluga whales a factor in the collapse of Kvichak's red salmon run? (2006, Bristol Bay Native Association external link)
- Alaska Beluga Whale Committee Biopsies - A Genetic Mark-Recapture Pilot Project: 2005, 2004
- State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game, 1954 - 1959 Bristol Bay beluga studies (search annual reports - external link)
Research on Eastern Chukchi Sea Belugas
Beluga whales in the Chukchi Sea. Photo: Laura Morse, NOAA Fisheries, Permit #782-1719-06
- Satellite Tagging Point Lay Beluga Whales: 1998 - 2008
- Phylogeography, population structure and dispersal patterns of the beluga whale in the western Nearctic revealed by mitochondrial DNA, Molecular Ecology, G. M. O’Corry-Crowe, et al., 1997
Research on Cook Inlet Belugas
- Status Reviews
- Status Review and Extinction Risk Assessment of Cook Inlet Belugas: 2008 supplemental, 2008, 2006, 1999, 1992
- Beluga Whales - Status, Distribution, Harvest History, Historic and Current Use, Habitat Associations, Traditional Knowledge and Abundance, Marine Fisheries Review, Vol 62, No. 3, 2000
- Synthesis of Available Information on the Cook Inlet Stock of Beluga Whales, Sue Moore, et al., December 1999
- 2006 World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, Cook Inlet population, IUCN website (external link)
- Monitoring Recovery Status and Age Structure of Cook Inlet, Alaska Belugas by Skin Color Determination, L. K. Litzky, 2001
- Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet - A Review, K. Shelden, 1994
- Movement
- 2008 Photo-identification of Beluga Whales in Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska: Report of Field Activities - February 2009, Report of Belugas Re-sighted - June 2009
- Oceanography, On the Movement of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska, December 2008
- Movements and Area Use of Belugas in a Subarctic Alaskan Estuary, Arctic, Vol. 58, No. 4, December 2005
- Satellite Tagging in Cook Inlet, 1999-2003
- AERIAL SURVEYS
- August 2009
- Estimated Abundance from Aerial Surveys Conducted in June 2009
- June 2009
- September/October 2008
- August 2008
- June 2008
- August 2007
- June 2007
- 1994-2007 annual abundance estimates as determined by aerial surveys in June and July
- August 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- August 2005
- June 2005
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001
- 2000
- June 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004
- June 2001 to June 2002
- Group Count Estimates and Analysis of Surfacing Behavior of Beluga Whales from Aerial Video in Cook Inlet, 1994
- Habitat
- Habitat Use in a Marine Ecosystem: Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet, Marine Ecology, K. T. Goetz, et al., January 2007
- Baroclinic tidal flows and inundation processes in Cook Inlet,Alaska: numerical modeling and satellite observations, Ocean Dynamics, Lie-Yauw Oey, Tal Ezer, Chuanmin Hu, Frank E. Muller-Karger
- International Polar Year Project - Pan-Arctic Tracking of Beluga Whales: an international science initiative from March 2007 to March 2009 to develop a circumpolar view of the movements and habitats of beluga whales throughout arctic and sub arctic waters
- Movements and Area Use of Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas,in a Subarctic Alaskan Estuary, Arctic, VOL. 58, N0. 4, P. 331–340, R.C. Hobbs, K.L. Laidre, D.J. Vos, B.A. Mahoney and M. Eagleton, December 2005
- Areas Used by CI Belugas: June, July and August 1993-1999 (Figure)
- Life History
- Photo-identification of beluga whales in Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska 2007 Annual Report; Prepared for Chevron, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Conoco Phillips Alaska, Inc., February 2008
- Unusual Mortality in the 2003 Depleted Cook Inlet Beluga Population, Northwestern Naturalist, 2005
- Developing a calving rate index for beluga in Cook Inlet, Alaska using aerial videography and photography, Christy Sims, et al., 2003
- Killer Whale Predation on Belugas in Cook Inlet, Alaska: Implications for a Depleted Population, Marine Mammal Science, K. Shelden, et al., July 2003
- Cook Inlet Beluga Age and Growth, Dan Vos, 2003
- Acoustics
- The beluga whale produces two pulses to form its sonar signal, The Royal Society, Biology Letters, Marc O. Lammers and Manuel Castellote, March 2009
- Beluga vocalizations (audio), August 2008. Recorded by Fisheries Research Agency, Japan, with contract support from NOAA to Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
- Beluga vocalizations (audio), August 2007. Recorded by Cara Hotchkin
- Acoustic Measurements in Cook Inlet, Susanna B. Blackwell, et al., August 2001
- Low-frequency underwater hearing sensitivity in belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, Frank T. Awbre, August 1988
- Anthropogenic Impacts
- Persistent Chlorinated Compounds and Elements in Tissues of CI Beluga Whales, Paul R. Becker, Rebecca S. Pugh, et al., April 2001
- Incidental Catch and Interactions of Marine Mammals and Birds in the Cook Inlet Salmon Driftnet and Setnet Fisheries 1999-2000
- Native Harvest and Use of Beluga in the Upper Cook Inlet
- January - June 1995
- July 1 - November 15, 1995 (with updates for January - July 1995)
- April - November 1996
- Field Report for Vessel Operations in Cook Inlet, J. Waite, et al., July 1995
- Impacts of Vessel Surveys and Tagging Operations on the Behavior of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet June 1994, K. Shelden, 1994
- Other Sightings
- Opportunistic Sightings of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet 1997-2002, C. Sims, D. Rugh, 2004
Satellite tag on a Cook Inlet beluga whale
Research on Yakutat Bay Belugas
- Abundance, Habitat Use and Behavior of Beluga Whales in Yakutat Bay in May 2008 as Revealed by Passive Acoustic Monitoring, Visual Observations and Photo-ID, March 2009
- The Ecology, Status and Stock Identity of Beluga Whales in Yakutat Bay, Alaska, Report to the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, G. O’Corry-Crowe, et al., February 2006