Automatic detection and classification of beluga whale calls in the St. Lawrence estuary.

The endangered beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) of the St. Lawrence Estuary (SLEB) faces threats from a variety of anthropogenic factors. Since belugas are a highly social and vocal species, passive acoustic monitoring has the potential to deliver, in a non-invasive and continuous way, real-time information on SLEB spatiotemporal habitat use, which is crucial for their monitoring and conservation.

Comparative toxicity of micro and nanopolystyrene particles in Mya arenaria clams.

The contamination of coastal marine environments by plastics of sizes ranging from mm down to the nanoscale (nm) could pose a threat to aquatic organisms. The purpose of this study was to examine the toxicity of polystyrene nanoparticles (PsNP) of various sizes (50, 100 and 1000 nm) to the marine clams Mya arenaria. Clams were exposed to concentrations of PsPP for 7 days at 15 °C and analyzed for uptake/transformation, changes in energy metabolism, oxidative stress, genotoxicity and circadian neural activity.

Sharing the waters: Application of a marine spatial planning approach to conserve and restore the acoustic habitat of endangered beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in and around the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park.

Anthropogenic underwater noise degrades the quality of whale habitats, affecting vital functions which may compromise the recovery of species at risk exposed to chronic vessel-based activities. The endangered St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) lives downstream from industrial activities in a highly accessible coastal environment.

Agent-based modelling reveals a disproportionate exposure of females and calves to a local increase in shipping and associated noise in an endangered beluga population.

Vessel underwater noise (VUN) is one of the main threats to the recovery of the endangered St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga population (SLEB). The 1% yearly population decline indicates that the cumulative threats are already beyond sustainable limits for the SLEB.

A voluntary conservation agreement reduces the risks of lethal collisions between ships and whales in the St. Lawrence Estuary (Québec, Canada): From co-construction to monitoring compliance and assessing effectiveness.

Lethal collisions with ships are limiting the recovery of several at-risk whale species worldwide. In the St. Lawrence Estuary (Quebec, Canada), the endangered blue whale and of special concern fin whale are among the migratory species subject to collisions with large ships.