ArticleScientific reports2022
Feces DNA analyses track the rehabilitation of a free-ranging beluga whale.
Article in Scientific reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transforming gastrointestinal helminth parasite identification in vertebrate hosts with metabarcoding: a systematic review.Parasites & vectors · 2024Pooled it
- Opportunistic Feeding and Parasite Assemblages in Sei Whales (Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- A Multi-Taxa Approach to Estuarine Biomonitoring: Assessing Vertebrate Biodiversity and Ecological Continuity Using Environmental DNA Metabarcoding in the Rance River (Brittany, France).Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Article
- eDNA-based survey of the marine vertebrate biodiversity off the west coast of Guadeloupe (French West Indies).Biodiversity data journal · 2024Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Following the sudden appearance, and subsequent efforts to support the survival of a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) speculated to have been previously trained off the coast of Norway, we investigate the animal's ability to readapt to life in the wild. Dietary DNA (dDNA) analysis was used to assess diet throughout this rehabilitation process, and during a return to unassisted foraging and self-feeding. Metabarcoding of feces collected throughout this process, confirmed the diversification of the beluga whale's diet to local prey. These findings are indicative of improved foraging behavior, and the ability of this individual to resume wild foraging following a period of dependency in managed care. New insight of digestion rates, and the time window during which prey detection through dDNA analysis is appropriate was also obtained. Beyond the case study presented here, we demonstrate the power of dDNA analysis as a non-intrusive tool to assess the diet of large mammals and track progress adapting to life in the wild following release from captivity and rehabilitation programs.
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Registered trials
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