How narwhal social structures create welfare interdependencies that make population management decisions complex.
Narwhal group welfare is embedded in the acoustic landscape of the Arctic that is rapidly changing with climate warming and associated industrial expansion. Narwhals communicate through complex clicks and whistles that enable social cohesion across their fluid group structure. Industrial noise — particularly from ships newly accessing ice-free Arctic routes — masks this communication and disrupts the social bonds between cows and calves. Abandonment of traditional summering fjords due to disturbance forces narwhals into suboptimal habitat with less adequate prey. Each abandonment represents a welfare cost to individuals who evolved behavioral traditions around specific geographic features. Quieter Arctic operation is possible through ship design and speed restrictions.