Sightings Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Photo-ID Project Newsletter Winter 2020 |
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Photos taken under General Authorization, Letter of Confirmation No. 481-1759, MMPA/ESA Research Permit #14210 and #18016 . Do not reproduce without permission. |
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Happy New Year! Happy 2020 CIBW fans. We hope that everyone is staying warm and enjoying their winter. With winter coming quite late this year, we were able to enjoy beluga sightings right into the new year. The 2019 beluga viewing season was an excellent one, and we want to thank everyone that helped to contribute their sightings. You can review all the past CIBW sightings on the 2019, 2018, and 2017 sighting maps on our website, just click here: website. There is also the new 2020 sightings map available- we look forward to hearing from you with your 2020 beluga sightings! This winter the CIBW Photo-ID Project Team is busy working on processing all the photos taken this season, writing reports, and submitting some manuscripts for publication (which we will post on the website when they are final). We will be presenting some of our work at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS) next week. If you are interested in attending the AMSS, information can be found below. We look forward to hearing from you all soon with your beluga sightings. Please share this with other beluga fans! Happy Beluga Viewing! The CIBW Photo-ID Project Team |
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The Alaska Marine Science Symposium will be held January 27-31, 2020. This annual conference highlights important Alaskan marine ecosystems: Gulf of Alaska (Tuesday), Bering Sea & Aleutian Islands (Wednesday), and the Arctic (Thursday). Research topics discussed range from ocean physics, fishes and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, to local traditional knowledge. The Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Photo-ID Project will be presenting several posters on Monday, January 27 between 6-9 pm at the Egan Center. Stop by and see what we've been up to. There will also be a couple of talks on CIBWs on Tuesday afternoon starting at 3:15 pm. For more information on AMSS click the link below. | | |
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COOK INLET BELUGA WHALE MANAGEMENT, RESEARCH, AND PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES JAN. 31ST | 1PM - 5PM | VOYAGER ROOM Join the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Management, Research, and Partnership Opportunities session during the 2020 Alaska Marine Science Symposium. This year, the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Recovery Implementation Task Force will also meet and will share progress to date. Click below for agenda. | | |
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Other Beluga News: Microplastics in the Arctic An article in phys.org states that recent scientific studies in the Canadian Arctic have made an unfortunate discovery of microplastics. Microplastics are any type of plastic that are less than 5mm in length (NOAA). They can be toxic and harmful to the environment, marine life and humans, but this is a new area of study and the extent of their impact is unknown. Another recent study by Ocean Wise out of Canada also found microplastics in seven harvested beluga whales. It is unknown how the microplastics entered the belugas digestive tracts, but it is thought that it was through injesting fish that already contained microplastics. It is unknown the exact effects of these findings but it does raise questions about the potential for long-term harm associated with chronic exposure to these microplastics. Follow the links below to read more about microplastics in the Arctic. | | |
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Belugas in the Spotlight This issue of belugas in the spotlight is going to focus on the belugas photographed by you, the public, in 2018. We receive so many great photos taken by talented photographers that help contribute to the long-term study of these endangered animals. We weren't able to identify all the whales, but below you will find a few of the whales we were able to identify along with the photographer that captured the images. In total, 16 catalog whales were matched from photos submitted. Thank you all for your continued contributions to the CIBW Photo-ID Project. If you have any photos you would like to contribute to the photo-id project to help with science, then please send them our way! |
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Deuce- This presumed female and mother has been photographed since the beginning of the photo-id project in 2005. This left-side photo was taken by Tammy Spratt along Turnagain Arm. Great capture of a calf! |
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Butterfly- This right-side whale became a catalog whale in 2015. Butterfly is the calf of one of our known catalog whales, Measure. This photo was taken at Bird Point by Robbie Frankovich. |
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Bigwave- This presumed female and mother has been photographed since 2005. This whale is one of our dual-sided whales, meaning we have photographs of both of her sides. The above photo was taken at Bird Point by Robbie Frankovich. Another great capture of a calf! |
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Boxer- This right-side whale was first photographed in 2017 by the photo-id team. Robbie Frankovich took this photo at Bird Point. The addition of these 2018 photos helped make this whale an official catalog whale. |
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Slate- This right-side whale was first photographed in 2006. This whale is presumed to a be a female who is a mother based on photographs taken with a calf. This photo was taken in the Kenai River by Rickard Sjöberg |
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