Mystic Beluga

WHOI biologist Aran Mooney (black jacket) traveled to Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Conn., to study hearing in beluga whales. Mooney, with Manuel Castellote from the NOAA National Marine Mammal Laboratory (green jacket) and Mystic marine mammal trainers (front to back) Kate McElroy, Kathryn Justice, and Nicole O’Donnell, monitored the sensitivity of the whale Kela to sounds played underwater. Declining Arctic sea ice is exposing wild belugas to more ship and construction noise that may make it harder for them to communicate or feed. Studying belugas in the aquarium’s controlled environment helps scientists better understand how noise stress affects wild belugas. (Photo by Tammy Lynne Silva, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution under Mystic Aquarium project #14006. W)