M.Sc. Student

CEOS and DFO Freshwater Institute

Supervisor: Dr. Lisa Loseto and Dr. Marianne Marcoux

B.Sc. Université du Québec à Rimouski : Biology (marine science background)

Research Interests:

I am looking at social behaviour of beluga whales from the Eastern Beaufort Sea population. During the summer of 2019, an aerial survey was conducted in the western Canadian Arctic with the objective of assessing a new abundance estimate for this population. I am using aerial photos captured during the survey to describe group characteristics and spatial organization of beluga whales, such as group size and composition, distance between individuals, and swimming direction. Characteristics and location of the groups will also be associated with environmental variables and compared between the deep offshore of the Beaufort Sea and the shallow waters of the Mackenzie Estuary to better understand grouping behaviour. The project is also part of a knowledge co-production partnership with the Inuvialuit Settlement Region communities who hold significant knowledge about this beluga population. The project aims to integrate Inuvialuit traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in the interpretation of photos and results.

Contact Information:

579 Wallace Building
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB
R3T 2N2
Email: mayettea@myumanitoba.ca