부산대학교 도서관

Vessel strikes, entanglement, poaching, intentional harassment, and invasive research are possible direct anthropogenic threats to the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas, population (CIBW) according to the CIBW Recovery Plan. Establishing the prevalence of such threats is necessary for understanding impact and monitoring future trends. We examined records of individual belugas photographed during 2005-17, along with stranding records during this time, to determine prevalence of scars indicative of anthropogenic trauma, and classified these scars according to their likely sources (e.g., entanglements, vessel strikes, puncture wounds, and research). In this combined dataset, 37.7% of 106 individuals had scars classified as either confirmed or possible anthropogenic origin. In the photo-ID records, 15% of individuals had signs of confirmed or possible entanglement, 14% had signs of confirmed or possible vessel strikes, 5% had signs of possible puncture scars, and 24% had research scars. Out of 33 necropsied belugas, 6% had scars from satellite tagging, 6% had signs of entanglement, 3% had possible signs of a vessel strike, and 3% had possible signs of puncture scars. We also examined wound healing, reproduction, and survival of individuals with scars consistent with anthropogenic trauma. One important result from this work is that trauma from anthropogenic sources may take years to manifest. From our limited sample we cannot directly infer the population-level prevalence of anthropogenic trauma, but our assessment shows the source and prevalence in the sample; this is a preliminary step in understanding how anthropogenic trauma may be contributing to the population's continued decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]