Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Photo-ID Project Reports, Publications and Presentations (click on link to view)

Photo-ID of beluga whales in Cook Inlet Alaska: Summary of Field Activities and Whales Identified  in 2020. 

• 2020 group data   

• 2020 individual data

Start late, go slow, die young? Linking natural history to vital rate estimation in an endangered whale: could a shortened reproductive lifespan be hindering recovery in Cook Inlet belugas? (McGuire et al. 2022 AMSS Poster)

Photo-ID of beluga whales in Cook Inlet Alaska: Summary of Field Activities and Whales Identified  in 2019. 

Photo-ID of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska: Summary of Field Activities and Whales Identified in 2018.     ​

Distribution and habitat use by Cook Inlet beluga whales: Insights from a long-term photo-identification study for management and recovery of an endangered population (McGuire et al. 2020 AMSS Poster).

Mortality of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales: Information from pairing a long-term photo-identification study with stranding records (McGuire et al. 2020 AMSS Poster).

Reproductive natural history of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales: Insights from a long-term photo-identification study  (McGuire et al. 2020 AMSS Poster).

Photo-identification of Beluga Whales in Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska Summary of Field Activities and Whales Identified in 2017 (McGuire, T., A. Stephens, and J. McClung. 2018).

Where are they now? Use of long-term photo-identification records to monitor individual Cook Inlet belugas following acute disturbance events and chronic disease (2019 AMSS Poster).

Photo-Identification of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska: Inclusion of Biopsy and Hexacopter Photographs from 2017. (McGuire, T., A. Stephens, and J. McClung. 2018).

Photo-identification of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska: Inclusion of Previously Uncataloged Photographs from 2012-2014.  (McGuire, T., A. Stephens, S. Dufault, and J. McClung. 2018).

Summary of spatial, temporal, demographic, and behavioral characteristics of groups of Cook Inlet beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) encountered during photo-id surveys conducted 2005-2016. (McGuire et al. 2018 AMSS Poster)

Adding pieces to the puzzle: Consolidating datasets from photo-id, stranding, and genetic studies extends what can be learned from
satellite-tagging of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales (McGuire et al. 2017 AMSS Poster)

Photo-identification of Beluga Whales in Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska Summary of Field Activities and Whales Identified in 2015 and 2016 (McGuire, T., A. Stephens, and S. Dufault. 2017)

Photo-identification of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska: Summary and Synthesis of 2005-2015 Data. Final Report (McGuire and Stephens 2017)

Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Biopsy: Photo-Identification of Biopsied Whales during the 2016 Feasibility Study (McGuire and Stephens 2017)

Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Biopsy: Field Report for 2016 Feasibility Study (McGuire et al. 2017)

Summary Report: Status of previously satellite-tagged Cook Inlet beluga whales (McGuire and Stephens 2016)

Eulachon and Salmon as Beluga Prey and Indicators of the Health of the Cook Inlet Ecosystem: Summary of Existing Data, Identification of Information Gaps, and Recommendations for Future Research (Bechtol et al. 2016)

The Susitna River Delta as a calving ground: Evidence from observation of  a Cook Inlet beluga birth and the 2005-2015 seasonal and geographic patterns of neonate occurrence in Upper Cook Inlet (McGuire et al. 2016)

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm, Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska: Summary of field activities and whales identified in 2014, May 2016

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in the Susitna River Delta, Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska: Summary of field activities and whales identified in 2014, May 2016

The continued development of a catalog of left-side digital images of individually identified Cook Inlet beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas: inclusion of data from 2009-2011. NPRB Project 1210 Final Report, December 2014

Photographing  Beluga Whales for Identification - CIBW Photo-ID Project Protocol, LGL Alaska Research Associates, Inc., August 2017

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in the Susitna River Delta, Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska: Final Report of Field Activities in 2013, June 2014

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in the Kenai Peninsula Borough Waters of Cook Inlet: Field Activities and Belugas Identified 2011-2013, January 2014

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in Eagle Bay, Knik Arm, Upper Cook Inlet: Field Activities and Belugas Identified 2011, August 2013

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in Susitna Delta, Upper Cook Inlet: Field Activities 2011 and 2012, Belugas Re-sighted 2011, March 2013

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in Upper Cook Inlet: Field Activities and Belugas Re-sighted 2010, May 2012

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in Upper Cook Inlet: Development of a Left-Side Catalog 2005-2008, March 2011

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in Upper Cook Inlet: Field Activities and Belugas Re-sighted 2009, February 2011

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in Upper Cook Inlet: Mark Analysis, Mark Re-sight Estimates, and Color Analysis 2008, December 2009

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in Upper Cook Inlet: Belugas Re-sighted 2008, June 2009

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in Upper Cook Inlet: Field Activities 2008, February 2009

Photo-ID of Beluga Whales in Upper Cook Inlet 2007, February 2008