Effects of seismic operations on bowhead whale behaviour : implications for distribution and abundance assessments ...

• Main Author: Robertson, Frances Charlotte
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2014
• Subjects: Balaena mysticetus; Beaufort Sea; bowhead whale
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0167533; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0167533

Assessments of distribution and abundance are a common means of gauging impacts of anthropogenic activities on wildlife. However, the influence of behavioural responses on estimated numbers and distributions of animals is rarely considered within this context. I used behavioural data collected in the Beaufort Sea from 1980-2000 to investigate the effects of seismic operations on the distribution and abundance of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). Bowhead whales are known to vary their dive and surface-respiration behaviour when exposed to seismic survey operations, although it is unknown whether these changes in behaviour differ by season, reproductive status and activity (feeding, socializing and travelling). Overall, I found that changes in behaviour of whales exposed to seismic operations were context dependent (i.e., they were contingent on the whale’s circumstance and activity). I then investigated the effects of these behaviour changes on the sightability of whales to aerial observers conducting ...