Seasonal acoustic presence of marine mammals at the South Orkney Islands, Scotia Sea

Increased knowledge about marine mammal seasonal distribution and species assemblage from the South Orkney Islands waters is needed for the development of management regulations of the commercial fishery for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in this region. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Royal Society Open Science
Main Authors: Linn Åsvestad, Heidi Ahonen, Sebastian Menze, Andrew Lowther, Ulf Lindstrøm, Bjørn A. Krafft
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Royal Society 2024
Subjects:
marine mammals
species composition
biodiversity
passive acoustic monitoring
vocalization
Scotia Sea
Science
Q
Antarctic
South Orkney Islands
Antarc*
Antarctic Krill
baleen whale
Euphausia superba
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230233
https://doaj.org/article/5670c9c666634b7990a2f111d57231b8
Description
Summary:Increased knowledge about marine mammal seasonal distribution and species assemblage from the South Orkney Islands waters is needed for the development of management regulations of the commercial fishery for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in this region. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data were collected during the autumn and winter seasons in two consecutive years (2016, 2017), which represented highly contrasting environmental conditions due to the 2016 El Niño event. We explored differences in seasonal patterns in marine mammal acoustic presence between the two years in context of environmental cues and climate variability. Acoustic signals from five baleen whale species, two pinniped species and odontocete species were detected and separated into guilds. Although species diversity remained stable over time, the ice-avoiding and ice-affiliated species dominated before and after the onset of winter, respectively, and thus demonstrating a shift in guild composition related to season. Herein, we provide novel information about local marine mammal species diversity, community structure and residency times in a krill hotspot. Our study also demonstrates the utility of PAM data and its usefulness in providing new insights into the marine mammal habitat use and responses to environmental conditions, which are essential knowledge for the future development of a sustainable fishery management in a changing ecosystem.

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