Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Research Publications

Assessment of the Prey Availability and Oil-related Contaminants in Winter Habitat of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales. (PDF, 63 pages) 2014. Saupe, S.M., T.M. Willette, D.L. Wetzel, and J.E. Reynolds. 2014 Assessment of the Prey Availability and Oil-related Contaminants in Winter Habitat of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales. Final Report of Field Surveys and Laboratory Analyses (2011-2013). Report prepared by Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council (RCAC) for the Kenai Peninsula Borough.

Anthropogenic and Environmental Stressors in Cook Inlet Beluga Whales, Literature Review and Assessment (PDF, 113 pages) 2011. Norman, S. A. Nonlethal anthropogenic and environmental stressors in Cook Inlet beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Report prepared for NOAA Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service, Anchorage, Alaska. NMFS contract no. HA133F-10-SE-3639.

Distribution, Habitat Use, and Behavior of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales and Other Marine Mammals at the Port of Anchorage Marine Terminal Redevelopment Project June – November 2011 2011. (PDF, 55 pages) Cornick, L., Ph.D., S. Love, L. Pinney, C. Smith, Z. Zartler.

Pathogens Exposures for Cook Inlet Beluga Whales (PDF, 31 pages) 2011. URS Corp. A supplement to Chemical exposures for Cook Inlet beluga whales: a literature review and evaluation, URS Corp., 2010. Report prepared for NOAA Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service, Anchorage, Alaska. NMFS contract no. AB133F-06-BU-0058

Chemical Exposures for Cook Inlet Beluga Whales (PDF, 59 pages) 2010. A literature review and evaluation. URS Corp. Chemical exposures for Cook Inlet beluga whales: a literature review and evaluation. Report prepared for NOAA Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service, Anchorage, Alaska. NMFS contract no. AB133F-06-BU-0058.

2008 Supplemental Status Review and Extinction Assessment of Cook Inlet Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). 2008. AFSC Processed Report 2008-08: The abundance estimate from 2008 and revised trend and extinction risk analyses.

Movements and Area Use of Belugas in a Subarctic Alaskan Estuary. 2005. Hobbs, R.C., K.L. Laidre, D.J. Vos, B.A. Mahoney, and M. Eagleton. Published in Arctic, Vol. 58, No. 4. Seasonal movements of 14 belugas in Cook Inlet, Alaska were monitored by satellite telemetry between July and March in 2000–2003.

Unusual Mortality in the Depleted Cook Inlet Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) Population (PDF, 7 pages) 2005. In 2003, an unusually high number of beluga whale deaths occurred in Cook Inlet. Vos, Daniel J. and Kim E. W. Shelden. Published in Northwestern Naturalist 86:59–65.

Persistent Chlorinated Compounds and Elements in Tissues of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales. 2001. Becker, Paul R., Rebecca S. Pugh, Michele M. Schantz, Elizabeth A. Mackey, Rabia Demiralp, Michael S. Epstein, Mary Kate Donais, Barbara J. Porter, Stephen A. Wise, and Barbara A. Mahoney. Discussion of all the analytical data generated by the  National Institute of Standards and Technology on selected samples of blubber, liver, and kidney tissue banked from the Cook Inlet beluga whales.

Historic and Current Use of Lower Cook Inlet, Alaska by Beluga Whales. 2000. Dedicated at-sea surveys for marine birds and mammals conducted in lower Cook Inlet in late July and early August from 1995–99 failed to locate any belugas. Speckman, Suzann G. and John F. Piatt. Marine Fisheries Review 62(3)

Distribution of Belugas in Cook Inlet, Alaska During June and July 1993–2000 (PDF, 16 pages) 2000. Distributional information on belugas during the optimal survey period to compare recent distributional data to data collected in previous surveys, and to provide group size estimates for calculations of stock size.  Rugh, David J., Kim E. W. Shelden, and Barbara A. Mahoney. Marine Fisheries Review 62(3).

Concentrations of Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Chlorinated Pesticides, Heavy Metals, and Other Elements in Tissues of Beluga Whales from Cook Inlet, Alaska (PDF, 18 pages) 2000. Becker, Paul R., Margaret M. Krahn, Elizabeth A. Mackey, Rabia Demiralp, Michele M. Schantz, Michael S. Epstein, Mary Kate Donais, Barbara J. Porter, Derek C. G. Muir, and Stephen A. Wise. This paper compares the tissue concentrations of PCB’s, chlorinated pesticides, and elements (including heavy metals) in the Cook Inlet belugas with concentrations reported for the eastern Chukchi Sea and eastern Beaufort Sea animals, and Canadian and Greenland belugas.

Synthesis of Available Information on the Cook Inlet Stock of Beluga Whales. Moore, S., D. Rugh, K. Shelden, B. Mahoney, and R. Hobbs. 1999. Synthesis of available information on the Cook Inlet stock of beluga whales. AFSC Processed Report 99-06, 22 p. Alaska Fish. Sci. Cent., Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Seattle, WA 98115-0070.