Aerial photographic identification of narwhal (Monodon monoceros) newborns and their spatial proximity to the nearest adult female

Abstract

Population and species management of long-lived species such as narwhal (Monodon monoceros) require long-term ecological monitoring programs to provide baseline information on population structure and dynamics. The success of such programs is dependent on the repeatability of the methods. Here, we propose a dichotomous key to identify narwhal newborns from aerial photography based on cetaceans’ mother–newborn dyad behavioral and narwhal newborn physical description. The key was tested by three inexperienced observers and one expert observer with interobserver agreement classified as fair according to the Cohen Kappa algorithm and criteria thresholds. This study gives some insight into narwhal-newborn spatial position, showing a predominant number of newborns located in the infant and echelon position.