Belugas: Sentinels of Climate Change in the Arctic (2023-2024)

The Arctic is experiencing rapid ecosystem changes in the face of global climate change. This project team sought to better understand how marine ecosystems are evolving in the face of climate change, using belugas in the Churchill region as model organisms.

Team members traveled to Churchill in August 2023 to examine marine mammal ecology and conservation and then embarked on remote sensing projects from data collected in the field. Students also connected with leading scientists from a range of disciplines and institutions who conduct related research in the Arctic and elsewhere.

Timing

Summer 2023 – Spring 2024

Team Outputs

Story-map web pages

Open-access datasets

This Team in the News

Faculty Perspectives: David Johnston

Beluga whale underwater.

Team Leaders

  • David Johnston, Nicholas School of the Environment-Marine Science and Conservation
  • Andrew Read, Nicholas School of the Environment-Marine Science and Conservation

/graduate Team Members

  • Isaac Benaka, Master of Environmental Management, Coastal Environmental Management
  • Christiana Bishop, Master of Environmental Management, Coastal Environmental Management
  • Bryan Graybill, Business Administration-MBA, Master of Environmental Management, Ecosystem Science and Conservation
  • Aileen Lavelle, Master of Environmental Management, Coastal Environmental Management
  • Greg Merrill, Ecology-PHD

/undergraduate Team Members

  • Gabrielle Moreau, Robertson Scholarship - UNC
  • Sara Norton, Biology (BS)
  • Lily Samuels, IDM:VMS-CS Computational Media

/yfaculty/staff Team Members

  • Douglas Nowacek, Nicholas School of the Environment-Marine Science and Conservation
  • Brian Silliman, Nicholas School of the Environment-Marine Science and Conservation
  • Jennifer Swenson, Nicholas School of the Environment-Environmental Sciences and Policy

/zcommunity Team Members

  • Douglas Clark, School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan
  • Justine Hudson, Fisheries and Oceans Canada