Our new review of beluga sociality and culture just dropped at Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology! Some of our key conclusions summarized 🧵 doi.org/10.1007/s002... @marine-valeria.bsky.social @dmennill.bsky.social @raincoast.org

Belugas generally live in sexually-segregated societies dominated by fission-fusion dynamics. Groups tend to be fluid and ephemeral, lacking the rigid group structure seen in some other whales, like resident killer whales.

Male belugas sometimes form partnerships lasting several months, and possibly longer! It’s not yet known whether these partnerships rival the lifelong bonds seen in male bottlenose dolphin.

Female belugas are matrifocal, not matrilineal! While maternal kinship is important, females also associate with distant relatives and unrelated individuals.

We suggest that belugas live in multi-level societies, structured from mothers and calves, to groups (often fewer than 10 whales), herds (reaching hundreds), and communities (sometimes reaching thousands!)

Beluga migratory routes are transmitted from mother to calf, resulting in migratory cultures shared by maternal kin. Belugas may also have dialects, a form of vocal culture, but this question requires further examination.