Dear colleagues,

My co-authors and I are pleased to share with you our recent publication on 
passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals in a proposed marine protected 
area of Hudson Bay.

Veronica L.M. Coppolaro, Kaushik Gupta, Lisa Loseto, C.J. Mundy, and Marianne 
Marcoux. Seasonal and diurnal marine mammal presence in the proposed marine 
protected area of Southampton Island, Hudson Bay, Nunavut as revealed by 
passive acoustic monitoring. Arctic Science. e-First  
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2023-0076

ABSTRACT
Marine protected areas contribute to mitigating the effects of human activities 
on marine ecosystems. The waters of Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada are 
under consideration to become a marine protected area, but baseline information 
of marine mammal presence and habitat use is lacking. This study represents the 
first passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals in this area, with data 
collected in 2018 and 2019. Bioacoustics analyses and generalized linear models 
were used to investigate species seasonal and temporal vocalization trends; 
infer behavior and habitat use from vocal cues; and explore vocal activity 
correlation with sea ice. Over a diel period, bearded seals (Erignathus 
barbatus (Erxleben, 1777)) and walruses (Odobenus rosmarus (Linnaeus, 1758)) 
were found to increase their vocal activity at night, whereas belugas 
(Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776)) mainly vocalized during daytime. 
Seasonally, bearded seals were recorded only during their breeding season at 
sea ice break-up, while walruses vocalized consistently throughout the 
open-water period outside their breeding season. Beluga vocal trends suggest 
their use of the area as a migratory corridor during sea ice break-up and 
freeze-up. Finally, bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus, 1758) were 
recorded later than expected, concurrently with the onset of their mating vocal 
displays during the fall migration at sea ice freeze-up.

Best wishes,
Veronica L.M. Coppolaro
___________________________________________

Veronica Coppolaro
Station Leader at "Dirigibile Italia" Arctic Research Station
Istituto di Scienze Polari (ISP - CNR)

PhD Candidate
Centre for Earth Observation Science (CEOS)
Arctic Science Partnership (ASP)
463 Wallace Building
125 Dysart Road
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB          R3T 2N2

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