Assessing abundance of beluga whales in Bristol Bay using genetic mark-recapture methods, 2002-2011

This project estimated the abundance of beluga whales within the Bristol Bay stock using genetic mark-recapture methods and combined genetic data with aerial survey data to develop an unbiased correction factor for use in future aerial surveys. The project was started in 2004 by the Alaska Beluga Whale Committee, which funded sample collection from 2004 until 2012 and genotyping from 2004 until 2011, and continued through funding from the North Pacific Research Board (NPRB 1516) from 2015 through 2017. The data for this project were generated using genetic markers from skin biopsies of beluga whales Bristol Bay from 2002 to 2011 using mark-recapture methods. Data from this project consists of 2 .csv data files archived here (NPRB_1516_Bristol_Bay_beluga_whale_abundance_data_sample_list.csv and NPRB_1516_Bristol_Bay_beluga_whale_abundance_data_matching_file.csv).