Lisa L Loseto

Image Loseto, Lisa
Research Scientist, Arctic Ecosystems and Biotracers

Lisa conducts research that focuses on characterizing beluga health as means to understand ecosystem health in the Western Canadian Arctic. She combines food web biotracers and habitat modeling to gain insight into predator-prey interactions and ecosystem energetics. Her research on beluga diet and habitat use combines Western science and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). Her research programs are carried out in partnership with communities and co-management boards of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. She strives to serve all Canadians by providing knowledge and advice to decision makers and by helping to empower the people of the north through scientific knowledge combined with their own knowledge of their ecosystem and home.   

Current research and/or projects

Dr. Lisa Loseto is a Research Scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Winnipeg with the Arctic Aquatic Research Division. Her research focuses on characterizing beluga health to better understand ecosystem health in the Western Canadian Arctic. Working closely with the Inuit communities of the Western Arctic, the Inuvialuit, she works to better understand beluga diet, habitat use and climate change impacts combining both western science and traditional ecological knowledge.

 

Watch as Lisa explains her work in understanding beluga health.

Education and awards

MSc (2003) University of Ottawa

BSc,H. (2001) York University

PhD (2007) University of Manitoba

Key publications

Primary Publications:

 

1. Storrie, L., Hussey, N.E., MacPhee, S.A., O’Corry-Crowe, G., Iacozza, J., Barber, D.G., Nunes, A., Loseto, L.L. 2022. Year-Round Dive Characteristics of Male Beluga Whales from the Eastern Beaufort Sea Population Indicate Seasonal Shifts in Foraging Strategies. Frontiers in Marine Science. 8:1901. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.715412

 

2. Gallagher, C., Storrie, L., Courtney, M.B., Howland, K., Lea, E.V., MacPhee, S., Loseto, L. 2021. Predation of Archival Tagged Dolly Varden, Salvelinus Malma, Reveals Predator Avoidance Behaviour and Tracks Feeding Events by Presumed Beluga Whale Delphinapterus Leucas in the Beaufort Sea. Animal Biotelemetry. 9: 48 (2021).  https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-021-00271-x

 

3. Breton-Honeyman, K., Huntington, H.P., Basterfield, M., Campbell, K., Dicker, J., Gray, T., Jakobsen, A.E.R., Jean-Gagnon, F., Lee, D., Laing, R., Loseto, L.L., McCarney, P., Noksana, J. Jr., Palliser, T., Ruben, L., Tartak, Clayton., Townley, J., Zdor, E. 2021. Beluga whale stewardship and collaborative research practices among Indigenous peoples in the Arctic. Polar Biology, 40: 5522. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v40.5522

 

4. Moore, R., Noel, M., Etemadifar, A., Loseto, L.L., Posacka, A., Bendell, L., Ross, P.S. 2021. Microplastics in Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) Prey: An exploratory assessment of trophic transfer in the Beaufort  Sea. Science of the Total Environment, 80: 150201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150201

 

5. Halliday, W., Pine, M. K., Citta, J., Harwood, L., Hauser, D.D.W., Hilliard, C.R., Lea, E., Loseto, L.L., Quakenbush, L., Insley, S. 2021. Potential exposure of underwater noise from ship traffic to beluga and bowhead whales in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Ocean and Coastal Management, 204: 105473 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105473

 

6. Hoover, C., Giraldo, C., Ehrman, A., Suchy, K.D., MacPhee, S.A., Brewster, J., Reist, J.D., Power, M., Swanson, H., Loseto, L. L. 2021. The Canadian Beaufort Shelf food web: A comparison of stable isotope and ecosystem modeling approaches to identify trophic structure. Arctic Science; In press https://doi.org/10.1139/AS-2020-0035

 

7. Loseto, L.L., Breton-Honeyman, K., Etiendem, D.N., Johnson, N., Pearce, T., Allen, J., Amos, A., Arqviq, J. Baak, J., Belanger, E., Bourdages, M., Brammer, J., Fawcett, D., Gerin-Lajoie, J., Gilbert, G., Hansen-Craik, K., Loring, E., Perrin, A., Slavitch, M. 2020. Indigenous participation in peer review publications and the editorial process: Reflections from a workshop. Arctic Science, 6: 352-360.

 

8. Pettitt-Wade, H., Loseto, L.L., Majewski, A., Hussey, N. 2021. Cod movement ecology in a warming world I: Circumpolar Arctic gadids. Fish Fish. 00: 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12536

 

9. Worden, E., Pearce, T., Gruben, M., Ross, D., Kowana, C., Loseto, L. 2020. Social-ecological changes and implications for understanding the declining beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) harvest in Aklavik, NT. Arctic Science, 6: 229-246.

 

10. Pettitt-Wade, H, Pearce, T., Kuptana, D., Gallagher, C.P., Scharffenberg, K., Lea, E., Hussy, N., Loseto, L.L. 2020. Inuit observations of a Tunicata bloom unusual for the Amundsen Gulf, western Canadian Arctic. Arctic Science, 6: 340-351.

 

11. Scharffenberg, K., MacPhee, S., Loseto, L. 2020. Upriver sightings of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) follow storm surges and high-water in the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada. Arctic Science. 7:679-689.  https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0010

 

12. Choy, E.S., Giraldo, C., Rosenberg, B. Roth, J.D., Stasko, A., Majewski, A., Swanson, H., Power, M., Reist, J.D., Loseto, L.L. 2020. Variation in the diet of beluga whales in response to changes in prey availability: insights on changes in the Beaufort Sea ecosystem. MEPS, 647: 195-210.

 

13. Halliday, W., Scharffenberg, K., Whalen, D., MacPhee, S., Insley, S.J., Loseto, L.L. 2020 The summer soundscape of a shallow-water estuary used by beluga whales in the western Canadian Arctic. Arctic Science. 1-23.

 

14. Halliday, W.D., Scharffenberg, K., MacPhee, S., Casey, H.R., Mouy, X., Whalen, D., Loseto, L.L., Insley, S.J. 2019. Beluga vocalizations decrease in response to vessel traffic in the Mackenzie River estuary. Arctic, 72: 337-346.

 

15. Whalen, D., Loseto, L.L., Hornby, C., Harwood, L., Hansen-Craik, K. 2019. Mapping and understanding the role of seabed morphology with respect to beluga whale hotspots and habitat use in the Mackenzie Estuary, NT. Estuaries and Coasts, 43: 161-173

 

16. Scharffenberg, K., Whalen, D., Marcoux, M., Iacozza, J., Davoren, G., Loseto, L. 2019.  Environmental drivers of beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) habitat use in the Mackenzie Estuary. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 626: 209-226.

 

17. MacMillan, K., Hoover, C., Iacozza, J., Peyton, J., Loseto, L.L. 2019. Developing an Indicator: Understanding the Influence of Harvest Location and Health on Beluga Whale Body Condition. Ecological Indicators, 104: 145-155.

 

18. Scharffenberg, K., Whalen, D., MacPhee, S., Marcoux, M., Iacozza, J., Davoren, G., Loseto, L. 2019. Oceanographic, ecological, and socio-economic impacts of an unusual summer storm in the Mackenzie Estuary. Arctic Science. 00:1-15.

 

19. Choy, E.S., Campbell, K.L., Berenbrink, M., Roth, J., Loseto, L.L. 2019. Body condition impacts blood and muscle oxygen storage capacity of free-living beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). JEB, 222(11), jeb191916.

 

20. Choy, E.S., Haulena, M., Rosenberg, B. Roth, J.D., Loseto, L.L. 2019. A comparison of diet estimates of captive beluga whales using fatty acids mixing models with their true diets. JEMBE: 516: 132-139.

 

21. Loseto, L.L. Brewster, J.D., Ostertag, S., Snow, K., MacPhee, S.A., McNicholl, D.G., Choy, E.S., Giraldo, C., Hornby, C. 2018. Diet and feeding observations from an unusual beluga harvest in Ulukhaktok Northwest Territories, Canada. Arctic Science, 4: 421-431.

 

22. Ostertag, S., Loseto, L.L., Snow, K., Lam, J., Hynes, K., Gillman, V. 2018. “That’s how we know they’re healthy”. The inclusions of Indigenous Knowledge in beluga health monitoring in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. Arctic Science, 4: 292-320.

 

23. Loseto, L.L., Pleskach, K., Hoover, C., Tomy, G., Desforges, J-P., Ross, P.S. 2018. Cortisol levels in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas): Setting a baseline for Marine Protected Areas. Arctic Science, 4: 358-372.

 

24. Waugh, D., Pearce, T., Ostertag, S., Collings, P., Loseto, L. 2018. Inuvialuit Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) Under Changing Climatic Conditions in Tuktoyaktuk, NT. Arctic Science, 4: 242-258.

 

25. Loseto, L.L., Hoover, C.H., Ostertag, S.K., Whalen, D., Pearce, T., Paulic, J., Iacozza, J., MacPhee, S. 2018. Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), environmental change and marine protected areas in the Western Canadian Arctic. Estuarine and Coastal Shelf Systems, 212: 128-137.

 

26. Brewster, J.D, Giraldo, C., Choy, E.S., Lynn, B., Hoover, C., MacPhee, S., McNicholl, D.G., Majewski, A., Rosenberg, B., Power, M., Reist, J.D., Loseto, L.L. 2018. A comparison of the trophic ecology of Beaufort Sea Gadidae using fatty acids and stable isotopes. Polar Biology, 41: 149-162.

 

27. Choy, E.S., Rosenberg, B., Roth, J.D., Loseto, L.L. 2017. Inter-annual variations in environmental factors affect prey and body condition of eastern Beaufort Sea beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Marine Ecology Progress Series 579: 201-212

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research facility

501 University Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N6
Canada

Affiliations

Centre(s) of Expertise:

  • University of Manitoba, CEOS (Centre for Earth Observations Science)
  • University of Manitoba, Biological Sciences

Language

English