Long, Abigail2026-04-242026-04-242026-04-262026-03-26http://hdl.handle.net/1993/39767Beluga whales, (Delphinapterus leucas), are primarily characterized as undergoing seasonal migrations, summering in estuaries and wintering in deeper waters. However, the James Bay population may remain in the Bay year-round. Beluga have a complex vocal repertoire, producing a variety of call types. The aim of this research is to determine the year-round presence of the James Beluga population using click vocalizations and understand the influence of environmental factors on presence; furthermore, assuming beluga are present, we want to define beluga call types in winter months to relate them to behaviours such as feeding and communicating. First, we used passive acoustic monitoring to record beluga vocalizations year-round at two different locations in James Bay, the northwest (2021-22) and the southeast (2022-23). We used both an automatic detector and manual analyses to detect the presence of clicks. We then used environmental parameters including sea surface temperature, salinity, and sea ice concentration to test the influence of these factors on the presence/absence of beluga. Results showed year-round presence of beluga click vocalizations at both locations in the northwest and southeast of James Bay. However, click presence was influenced differently by environmental factors at the two locations. At the northwest location we found an increased presence during warmer sea surface temperatures, and a negative effect from sea ice cover. In contrast, the southeast region showed a positive relationship between beluga presence and cooler sea surface temperatures and sea ice-freeze up, specifically occurring in December and January. These findings suggest that the northwestern area of James Bay may be a suitable area for summer aggregating zones whereas the southeastern area of James Bay may be a more suitable overwintering environment. Spatial analysis comparing presence at the mooring locations and sea ice concentration across the James Bay revealed a spatial distribution along the eastern coastline, suggesting that beluga are following flaw leads (i.e. the floe edge) and exploiting the polynya extending from the La Grande River. Secondly, we defined call types and related behaviours in December 2022, an ice freeze-up regime, and January 2023, an ice-covered regime. Call types included echolocation click trains, used for navigational purposes, click trains ending with a terminal buzz, indicating feeding, as well as whistles and broadband pulsed calls, both used for communication. Results indicate that the total number of calls was greater in December compared to January. We then developed a foraging index to quantify how frequently foraging behaviour occurred across all acoustic files with confirmed beluga presence. The foraging index was higher in December (i.e. 14.8) compared to January (9.9), suggesting that feeding activity was more prevalent during open-water or early freeze-up conditions than during periods of extensive ice cover. Overall, we found a year- round presence of beluga in James Bay. However, beluga presence was highest during ice-freeze-up in the south, with the occurrence of both foraging and social call types, indicating flaw leads and/or polynyas may be providing suitable overwintering habitat for James Bay beluga. Using these results can help inform regional planning and the establishment of conservation areas and management systems relevant to beluga habitat in James Bay.engBelugaJames BayAcousticsMigration