Alaska

Strategic Sex: Alaska’s Beluga Whales Swap Mates for Survival

Published

3 months ago

January 21, 2026

Strategic Sex: Alaska’s Beluga Whales Swap Mates for Survival

An aerial view of a large aggregation of adult beluga whales in a bay during the summer in the High Arctic. (Photo credit: Greg O’Corry-Crowe and Cortney Watt, Arctic Whale Research Program – FAU/DFO)

Study Snapshot: In the icy waters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay, beluga whales survive through a surprising strategy: mating with multiple partners over several years. Researchers from FAU Harbor Branch, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the North Slope Department of Wildlife Management used long-term genetic analysis and behavioral observations to show that both males and females share reproductive opportunities, creating numerous half-siblings and maintaining genetic diversity in this small, isolated population.

This polygynandrous system helps buffer the population against genetic drift, the random loss of genes in small groups. By spreading reproduction across many individuals over a long reproductive lifespan, belugas reduce inbreeding and preserve long-term resilience, highlighting the critical role of both male strategies and female mate choice in shaping the next generation.

In the icy waters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay, a new study reveals how a small population of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) survive the long haul through a surprising strategy: they mate with multiple partners over several years. The combination of long-term genetics, observation and careful analysis is starting to reveal some of the most intimate insights into one of the Arctic’s most elusive whales.

Beluga whales live in a world that’s difficult for scientists to observe, so surprisingly little is known about how they choose mates, compete for partners, or raise their young in the wild.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management in Alaska, are the first to uncover how wild beluga whales mate, who fathers which calves, and how these reproductive strategies influence genetic diversity and inbreeding.

Over 13 years, researchers collected genetic samples from 623 beluga whales in Bristol Bay, while also observing their social groupings and ages. This population is composed of about 2,000 whales and is largely isolated, with little or no mixing with other populations, offering a unique opportunity to study them as a distinct population.

Because belugas are long-lived, researchers focused on short-term mating strategies – what happens in a single breeding season or across a few years – rather than an entire lifetime. They wanted to determine if beluga whales in Bristol Bay were polygynous, where one male mates with multiple females; polyandrous, where one female mates with multiple males; or possibly polygynandrous, where both males and females have multiple mates.

Published in Frontiers in Marine Science, the study reveals that this beluga whale population engages in highly strategic mating – a polygynandrous system. Both males and females mate with multiple partners over several years. Variance in reproductive success among individuals is moderate rather than being dominated by just a few individuals. This “mate switching” results in many half-siblings and few full-siblings and may reduce the risk of inbreeding and help maintain genetic diversity despite the population’s small size and isolation.

“What makes this study so thrilling is that it upends our long-standing assumptions about this Arctic species,” said Greg O’Corry-Crowe, Ph.D., senior author, a research professor of Wildlife Evolution and Behavior at FAU Harbor Branch and a National Geographic Explorer. “Because males are much larger than females and appear to spend little time associating with mothers and calves, scientists believed belugas were likely to be highly polygynous, where males spend a lot of time competing for mates and only a few dominant males fathering most of the calves. Our findings tell a very different story. In the short term, males are only moderately polygynous. One explanation we think lies in their incredible longevity – belugas can live perhaps 100 years or more. Rather than competing intensely in a single season, males appear to play the long game, spreading their reproductive efforts over many years. It appears to be a ‘take your time, there’s plenty of fish in the sea’ strategy.”

Meanwhile, findings from the study show that females have their own equally fascinating reproductive strategy. Rather than sticking with a single partner, they frequently switch mates from one breeding season to the next. This behavior may serve as a form of risk management, allowing females to avoid pairing with low-quality males and increasing the likelihood of producing healthy, genetically diverse offspring.

“It’s a striking reminder that female choice can be just as influential in shaping reproductive success as the often-highlighted battles of male-male competition,” said O’Corry-Crowe. “Such strategies highlight the subtle, yet powerful ways in which females exert control over the next generation, shaping the evolutionary trajectory of the species.”

Interestingly, researchers did not find any differences between older and younger adults in terms of how many had young calves in the population at any one time, for either males or females. However, older mothers had more surviving calves than younger ones, suggesting experience, body condition, and mate choice boost reproductive success. Most adults – male and female – had only a few offspring at a time, reflecting slow female reproduction, and the fact that males father only a small number of calves each year.

The study underscores the importance of considering mating systems in conservation, especially for small or isolated populations. In polygynandrous systems, mate choice, partner switching, and shared reproductive opportunities spread genes more evenly, maintaining genetic diversity, limiting inbreeding, and offsetting the deleterious impacts of small effective population size. This helps buffer against genetic drift, which can otherwise erode diversity when only a few individuals reproduce.

“Understanding these dynamics matters for conservation. If only a few males father most calves, the effective population size becomes much smaller than the number of whales actually present,” said O’Corry-Crowe. “This loss of genetic diversity increases the risk of inbreeding and reduces the population’s ability to adapt to environmental change. Frequent mate switching combined with low reproductive ‘skew’ and possibly the active avoidance of mating with close relatives, may be effective strategies to maintaining the genetic health of relatively small populations.”

Much of the motivation for this study came from the Indigenous communities of Bristol Bay who worked with the team of scientists to conduct the research and to meld scientific research with Indigenous knowledge as a means to protect and co-manage beluga whales in a changing Arctic and sub-arctic. Their partnership was invaluable to the success of the project.

“We cannot afford to be complacent. Small populations still face the dangers of genetic erosion. But we can be optimistic that beluga whale mating strategies provide evidence of nature’s resilience and offers hope for those working to save and recover small populations of any species,” said O’Corry-Crowe.

Study co-authors are Lori Quakenbush, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Arctic Marine Mammal Program; Tatiana Ferrer, coordinator of research programs, FAU Harbor Branch; and John J. Citta, Ph.D., and Anna Bryan, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Arctic Marine Mammal Program.

This research was supported by the Alaska Beluga Whale Committee, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the North Pacific Research Board, NOAA, and FAU Harbor Branch.

Beluga whales in the High Arctic during the summer. A group of beluga whale bulls in a bay, followed by two cow-calf pairs in a shallow river estuary. An all-male group of beluga whale bulls swims alongside a female with a young calf, showing the size difference between adult males and females and the cream-gray color of the calf. The video ends with a large aggregation of adult beluga whales in a bay during the summer in the High Arctic. (Video Credit: Greg O’Corry-Crowe and Cortney Watt, Arctic Whale Research Program – FAU/DFO)

Beluga Whales

A group of beluga whale bulls in a bay during the summer in the High Arctic. (Photo credit: Greg O’Corry-Crowe and Cortney Watt, Arctic Whale Research Program – FAU/DFO)

Beluga Whales

Two beluga whale cow-calf pairs in a shallow river estuary in the High Arctic. (Photo credit: Greg O’Corry-Crowe and Cortney Watt, Arctic Whale Research Program – FAU/DFO)

-FAU-

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Alaska

U.S. Coast Guard announces homeporting of the first two Arctic Security Cutters in Alaska

Published

9 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

U.S. Coast Guard announces homeporting of the first two Arctic Security Cutters in Alaska

Artists rendering of the future Arctic Security Cutter that the U.S. Coast Guard said would first be homeported in Alaska. The first of the icebreaking cutters are scheduled for delivery in 2028. (Davie Defense, Inc.)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday that the first two Arctic Security Cutters will be homeported in the State of Alaska. Anticipating delivery of the first Arctic Security Cutters by the end of 2028, the Coast Guard has begun planning to ensure necessary infrastructure and support are in place to receive two icebreakers. Ensuring these vessels are supported by trained and ready crews, and ready homeport facilities including housing, will be essential to delivering full, enduring operational capability required to meet emerging Arctic security challenges.

“Homeporting these two Arctic Security Cutters in Alaska is a decisive step forward in securing America’s Arctic frontier,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. “I want to thank President Trump for his bold leadership and vision in directing this critical investment, as well as Senator Sullivan and the entire Alaskan Congressional delegation for championing the funding that made these icebreakers possible. These vessels will deliver the enduring operational presence our nation needs to protect sovereignty, deter foreign adversaries, and safeguard vital resources for the American people..”

The homeporting of the first two Arctic Security Cutters in Alaska builds on the historic expansion of the Coast Guard’s icebreaker fleet and underscores an unprecedented investment in the Arctic. This announcement marks a national milestone in U.S. Arctic capability, following contract awards for up to 11 Arctic Security Cutters. Fueled by $3.5 billion in funding in the Fiscal Year 2025 Reconciliation Bill and facilitated by a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and Finland in October 2025, the acquisition of Arctic Security Cutters will fulfill President Trump’s directive to rapidly deliver America’s newest icebreaker fleet.

“Homeporting Arctic Security Cutters in Alaska underscores the United States’ leadership as a maritime power in the Arctic,” said Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard. “By strategically positioning these state-of-the-art icebreakers in Alaska, the Coast Guard will maximize our ability to defend our northern border and approaches, while reinforcing America’s maritime dominance in a crucial region of strategic importance.”

Through contract awards to Rauma Marine Constructions Oy of Rauma, Finland, Bollinger Shipyards Lockport, L.L.C., and Davie Defense, Inc. of Vienna, VA, the U.S. will immediately benefit from our Finnish partners’ icebreaker expertise while coordinating the onshoring of that expertise and shipbuilding to the United States. Under the MOU, Finland will construct up to four ASCs for the U.S Coast Guard. U.S. shipyards will build and deliver up to seven additional ASCs. Delivery of the first Arctic Security Cutters is expected by the end of 2028.

Arctic Security Cutters will form the backbone of a revitalized U.S. icebreaker fleet, strengthening American maritime dominance in the Arctic. Fielding specialized capabilities, these icebreakers will defend U.S. sovereignty, secure critical shipping lanes, protect energy and mineral resources, and counter foreign malign influence in the Arctic region. A robust icebreaker fleet will enable the Coast Guard to control, secure and defend U.S. Alaskan borders and Arctic maritime approaches, facilitate maritime commerce vital to economic prosperity and strategic mobility, and respond to crises and contingencies in the region.

Acquisition of Arctic Security Cutters supports the Coast Guard’s ongoing modernization, through which the Service is transforming into a more agile, capable and responsive fighting force.

Memorandum on ASC Homeporting

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Alaska

‘We never forgot her’: Friends, family of longtime Alaska teacher gather for 100th birthday celebration

Published

21 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

‘We never forgot her’: Friends, family of longtime Alaska teacher gather for 100th birthday celebration

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Phyllis Sullivan has certainly led a life worth celebrating.

Born in 1926, Sullivan moved to Alaska with her husband and three children in 1959 to teach, first in the village of Kwethluk in Western Alaska and later at Wendler and Mears Middle Schools in Anchorage.

All the while, she left strong impressions with countless students and acquaintances, some of whom gathered in the basement of Anchor Park United Methodist Church in Anchorage Saturday to celebrate Sullivan’s century of life.

“Education has been the primary thing in her entire life,” her son Dennis Sullivan said. “She’s always been a school teacher and she’s been one of the sweetest people in the entire world.”

As a slideshow featuring vintage photos from her life and time in Alaska played, Phyllis, wheelchair-bound but high in spirit, stopped to chat with every new person who entered the room, some of whom she hadn’t seen in years.

“It’s impressive that this many people are here,” she said. “That’s very encouraging. Makes me think maybe I did something right along the way.”

Aside from family members, most visitors were there because of the impression Phyllis Sullivan left on them during her many years in the classroom.

“She gave us this one assignment: to memorize a poem,” former Mears student Tina Arend recalled. She said Phyllis Sullivan was her 8th grade English teacher.

“And when she gave us the assignment, she said, ‘I’ve had students come back many, many, many years later and recite the poem to me.’ And we actually still remember the poem,” Arend said of her and her husband, who was also in attendance. They both went on to become teachers at Mears as well.

Matthew Nicolai, whom Phyllis Sullivan taught in Kwethluk, has similarly fond memories.

“The Bureau had ordered that teachers do corporal punishment for speaking Yup’ik,” Nicolai remembered. “Even though we spoke Yup’ik, she never did that, never cracked our hands. Other teachers did, but not her. That’s why we never forgot her.”

In addition to teaching, Phyllis Sullivan also found time to open her home to those in need. She and her husband once took in a family with seven kids who had been displaced by flooding in Fairbanks in 1967.

“It touched our heart because they bought us a lot of stuff that we needed because we lost a lot of stuff during the flood,” David Solomon, one of those seven kids, said. “We stayed there for over three years.”

Phyllis Sullivan said she is enjoying life and is doing fine.

“My mother made it to 103,” she said. “So, I’ve got a while yet.”

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Alaska

Alaska Senate committee advances draft capital budget, boosting funds for school maintenance

Published

1 day ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Alaska Senate committee advances draft capital budget, boosting funds for school maintenance

The Alaska Senate Finance committee advanced a draft capital budget on Tuesday that would put nearly $250 million toward state facilities and maintenance projects next year.

The draft budget adds $88 million to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed capital budget of $159 million, with the largest additions going toward K-12 schools and university facilities maintenance.

That was a focused effort by the finance committee, said co-chair Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, who called funding for education facilities maintenance a “heavy concentration” on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, students and school officials testified to lawmakers that decades of deferred maintenance has reached crisis levels — with many rural school districts in particular grappling with deteriorating facilities, failing water and sewer systems — which they say is degrading student and staff morale. Lawmakers have expressed support and increased funding in recent years, but point to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s history of vetoes as a roadblock for funding education.

The Senate draft includes $57.8 million in additional funding toward K-12 school maintenance through the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and $17 million toward the University of Alaska. It also includes $5.7 million for the Alaska Court System’s facilities and $8 million for community infrastructure and workforce development programs through the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.

The Legislature relies on state ranked lists to prioritize where to direct funding to capital projects for K-12 schools, the university system and the court system.

For K-12 schools, the state’s current major maintenance list totals over $400 million needed for 103 school projects and repairs. Stedman said he recognized this year’s capital budget will only fund a fraction of those.

“Hopefully we get a quarter of it done, or something like that, but it’d be nice to retire the entire list,” Stedman said.

The draft budget would fund the top 15 school projects on the list, plus funds for three other schools in need of emergency fuel tank repairs. The top projects range from roof and boiler replacements to septic systems, fire suppression and safety upgrades in schools from Fairbanks to the Aleutian Islands.

In order to distribute funds more widely, members of the finance committee reduced funding for one project in Galena, in the Western Interior of Alaska, from roughly $35 million to $5 million for renovations to the Sydney C. Huntington Elementary and High Schools. They also allocated $17 million towards rebuilding the school in Stebbins in Western Alaska, after it burned down in 2024.

The Senate draft also adds nearly $14 million in funding for the state-run Mt. Edgecumbe High School, which has been the focus of public attention and concern after a quarter of students disenrolled this year. The additional facilities dollars include $10 million to remodel the dining hall, $3.1 million to replace dorm windows, $460,000 to replace dorm furniture, $50,000 to replace mattresses and $125,000 to replace aging laundry machines.

Finance members added $17 million to fund the top nine projects across the University of Alaska system — three projects each within the three major campuses.

Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, serves on the finance committee and his district includes University of Alaska Southeast. He described the proposed funds as a “nickel” compared to the “colossal” deferred maintenance needs of the university system.

“That’s been built by Legislatures and Boards of Regents for 40 years,” he said on Wednesday, adding that it is a shared responsibility to put funding towards repairs and upgrades.

“The Constitution makes them a separate body within the executive branch that puts a lot of responsibility on them, too, more than the general state government,” he said “So university major maintenance is its own huge problem.”

The draft budget also includes $5.7 million for upgrades to state court facilities, mostly targeted to Anchorage and Sitka. It contains nearly $10 million for workforce development programs geared at the construction and oil and gas sectors, including for the Fairbanks Pipeline Training Center and Alaska Vocational Technical Center in Seward.

An amendment to add $25 million to the draft budget for the Port of Anchorage, sponsored by Sen. Kelly Merrick, R-Eagle River, was voted down on Tuesday by a 5 to 2 vote.

Before voting against the proposal, finance co-chair Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, said during committee deliberations the priority this year is to fund as many school maintenance projects on the list as possible, saying “schools are falling apart” and must be maintained to prevent further deterioration.

“Students that are trying to learn deserve better,” Hoffman said. “And if we are not able to provide this major maintenance, we are going to see these schools continue to crumble, and the financial burden to the state of Alaska will be hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild schools.”

More funding for school maintenance and other capital projects could be added by the Alaska House of Representatives, who will take up the draft budget bill after it’s approved by the Senate in the coming weeks.

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