Eastern Chukchi Sea Stock
| Collaborators | Greg O’Corry-Crowe, beluga hunters throughout Alaska, Robert Suydam, Lori Quakenbush |
Summary:
Skin samples from the harvested beluga whales at Point Lay were used to obtain DNA for genetic studies. Dr. Greg O’Corry-Crowe compared the genetics of the Point Lay belugas to other beluga stocks in Alaska and western Canada in order to learn more about the population structure, breeding patterns, and migration of animals between stocks. Traditionally, it was thought that there were five stocks in the western Arctic but this work has provided evidence that may change the number to six stocks.
Conclusions from the genetics work so far:
- There are significant differences between groups that summer together, indicating that these animals are very faithful to these summer concentration areas, returning every year.
- There are some similarities among the stocks of beluga in western and northern Alaska, indicating that there is some movement of individual whales between groups. The stock in Cook Inlet stock is quite genetically different from the other stocks.
- It was possible to look at an individual whale’s DNA and have a good idea of what stock it came from originally.
- Belugas from Kotzebue Sound appear to be a unique stock. Those whales are genetically different from the eastern Chukchi group, which gather near Point Lay early in the summer. These animals used to be considered as one stock but may need to be separated into two stocks based on the genetic information. If they are separated, they will need to be managed as separate groups to ensure harvests are sustainable.
Map of stocks of Beluga whales in Alaska (ADFG)
Posters:
- O’Corry-Crowe, G., et al. 2015. Genetic investigation of multi-decadal shifts in beluga whale behavior in a changing Arctic. Poster presented at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, Alaska, January 2015.
- Ferrer, T., et al. 2015. Genetic variation and immune response in beluga whales. Poster presented at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, Alaska, January 2015.
Publications:
- O’Corry-Crowe, G.M., Suydam, R.S., Rosenberg, A., Frost, K.J., and Dizon, A.E. 1997. Phylogeography, population structure and dispersal patterns of the beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas in the western Nearctic revealed by mitochondrial DNA. Molecular Ecology 6:955-970.
- O’Corry-Crowe, G.M., Dizon, A.E., Suydam, R.S., and Lowry, L.F. 2002. Molecular genetic studies of population structure and movement patterns in a migratory species: the beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Pages 53-64. In: C.J. Pfeiffer (ed.). Molecular and Cell Biology of Marine Mammals. Kreiger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida.
- O’Corry-Crowe, G., A.R. Mahoney, R.Suydam, L. Quakenbush, A. Whiting, L. Lowry, L. Harwood. 2016. Genetic profiling links changing sea-ice to shifting beluga whale migration patterns. Biology Letters 12:20160404. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0404.
- O’Corry-Crowe, G.M., R. Suydam, et al. 2018. Migratory culture, population structure and stock identity in North Pacific beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). PLoS ONE 13(3):e0194201. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194201.
- O’Corry-Crowe, G.M., R. Suydam, L. Quakenbush, T.G. Smith, C. Lydersen, K.M. Kovacs, J. Orr, L. Harwood, D. Litovka, T. Ferrer. 2020. Group structure and kinship in beluga whale societies. Scientific Reports 20:11462. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67314-w.
