An integrated population model for St. Lawrence estuary belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) / M. Tim. Tinker, Arnaud Mosnier, Anne P. St-Pierre, Jean-François Gosselin, Stéphane Lair, Robert Michaud, Véronique...: Fs70-5/2023-047E-PDF

"St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) belugas are a relict population from the Wisconsin glaciation that probably numbered 10,000 or more in the mid-1800s. As a result of intensive harvests starting in the 1700s, combined with environmental degradation, the population was greatly reduced by the 1980s, leading to their classification as 'Endangered' by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 1983 and to the implementation of a series of programs to monitor the health, demography and dynamics of the population. SLE beluga are exposed to multiple stressors, including environmental contaminants, prey reductions, toxic algal blooms, vessel noise, and various other risk factors. We compiled available data sets on abundance trends, mortality patterns, cause of death and age structure, and used these data to develop and fit an integrative population model (IPM) with the aim of assessing the current status and trends of the SLE beluga population, estimating the risk of quasi-extinction under different scenarios, and identifying new recovery targets for this endangered population"--Abstract, page iv.

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