Group structure and kinship in beluga whale societies

The electrocardiogram of a Beluga whale.

Masked tonal hearing thresholds in the beluga whale.

Masked tonal thresholds were measured for a beluga whale at one noise level and 32 frequencies between 40 Hz and 115 kHz. Critical ratios were estimated and compared with those previously measured for the bottlenose dolphin. Beluga whale critical ratios were found to be about 3 dB lower than those of the bottlenose dolphin. Absolute tonal thresholds were extended below previous measurements to ...

The Genome of the Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

The beluga whale is a cetacean that inhabits arctic and subarctic regions, and is the only living member of the genus Delphinapterus. The genome of the beluga whale was determined using DNA sequencing approaches that employed both microfluidic partitioning library and non-partitioned library construction. The former allowed for the construction of a highly contiguous assembly with a scaffold N5...

BELUGA WHALE, Delphinapterus leucas: Cook Inlet Population - Critically Endangered

Population Identity: Based on studies of mitochondrial DNA, Cook Inlet belugas are genetically distinct from the other four beluga populations that occur in western and northern Alaska (O’Corry-Crowe et al. 1997; O’Corry-Crowe, pers. comm.). There have been only two beluga sightings recorded in the region between Cook Inlet and the nearest beluga population in Bristol Bay (Frost and Lowry 1990;...

Environmental Adaptations of the Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

This paper aims to analyze the physiological, perceptual, and behavioral adaptations in the Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) as a result of its arctic niche. The social implications of these adaptations will be examined by looking at each part as influential elements of each other. Lastly, the idea of defining culture in cetaceans will be addressed, including a proposal for examining cultur...