North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis occurrence in offshore wind energy areas near Massachusetts and Rhode Island, USA
Recent surveys of wind energy areas offshore of Massachusetts and Rhode Island (USA) have demonstrated that they encompass habitat used by the Endangered North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis. Prior to 2011, little systematic survey effort had been conducted in the area. The Bureau of Ocean...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:89016692409843eaa2700f908631f357 2023-05-15T16:08:16+02:00 North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis occurrence in offshore wind energy areas near Massachusetts and Rhode Island, USA Leiter, SM Stone, KM Thompson, JL Accardo, CM Wikgren, BC Zani, MA Cole, TVN Kenney, RD Mayo, CA Kraus, SD 2017-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00827 https://doaj.org/article/89016692409843eaa2700f908631f357 EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v34/p45-59/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00827 https://doaj.org/article/89016692409843eaa2700f908631f357 Endangered Species Research, Vol 34, Pp 45-59 (2017) Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00827 2022-12-31T01:08:57Z Recent surveys of wind energy areas offshore of Massachusetts and Rhode Island (USA) have demonstrated that they encompass habitat used by the Endangered North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis. Prior to 2011, little systematic survey effort had been conducted in the area. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the state of Massachusetts supported 3.5 yr of twice-monthly aerial surveys by the Northeast Large Pelagic Survey Collaborative (NLPSC). Additional survey teams including the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the Center for Coastal Studies have collected sightings data in the region. Data systematically collected by the NLPSC allowed analyses of monthly sightings rates, sightings per unit effort, and hot spots which provided information on current temporal and spatial use patterns. Abundance estimates for each season-year (i.e. a 3 mo period within a given survey year) were calculated. Behaviors observed included feeding and surface active groups. Photo-identification of whales since 2010 yielded a minimum count of 196 unique individuals (annual average = 35), or over one-third of the current population estimate. Analyses of demographics of these individuals revealed that 34 known calving females (30% of the total currently presumed alive) visited the study area. These results demonstrate consistent annual use of this area by a significant portion of the E. glacialis population, with a strong correlation between season and presence. These findings can inform management activities and development planning, and be used as a baseline dataset for assessing long-term impacts to the species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Endangered Species Research 34 45 59 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
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Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 Leiter, SM Stone, KM Thompson, JL Accardo, CM Wikgren, BC Zani, MA Cole, TVN Kenney, RD Mayo, CA Kraus, SD North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis occurrence in offshore wind energy areas near Massachusetts and Rhode Island, USA |
topic_facet |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
description |
Recent surveys of wind energy areas offshore of Massachusetts and Rhode Island (USA) have demonstrated that they encompass habitat used by the Endangered North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis. Prior to 2011, little systematic survey effort had been conducted in the area. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the state of Massachusetts supported 3.5 yr of twice-monthly aerial surveys by the Northeast Large Pelagic Survey Collaborative (NLPSC). Additional survey teams including the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the Center for Coastal Studies have collected sightings data in the region. Data systematically collected by the NLPSC allowed analyses of monthly sightings rates, sightings per unit effort, and hot spots which provided information on current temporal and spatial use patterns. Abundance estimates for each season-year (i.e. a 3 mo period within a given survey year) were calculated. Behaviors observed included feeding and surface active groups. Photo-identification of whales since 2010 yielded a minimum count of 196 unique individuals (annual average = 35), or over one-third of the current population estimate. Analyses of demographics of these individuals revealed that 34 known calving females (30% of the total currently presumed alive) visited the study area. These results demonstrate consistent annual use of this area by a significant portion of the E. glacialis population, with a strong correlation between season and presence. These findings can inform management activities and development planning, and be used as a baseline dataset for assessing long-term impacts to the species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Leiter, SM Stone, KM Thompson, JL Accardo, CM Wikgren, BC Zani, MA Cole, TVN Kenney, RD Mayo, CA Kraus, SD |
author_facet |
Leiter, SM Stone, KM Thompson, JL Accardo, CM Wikgren, BC Zani, MA Cole, TVN Kenney, RD Mayo, CA Kraus, SD |
author_sort |
Leiter, SM |
title |
North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis occurrence in offshore wind energy areas near Massachusetts and Rhode Island, USA |
title_short |
North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis occurrence in offshore wind energy areas near Massachusetts and Rhode Island, USA |
title_full |
North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis occurrence in offshore wind energy areas near Massachusetts and Rhode Island, USA |
title_fullStr |
North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis occurrence in offshore wind energy areas near Massachusetts and Rhode Island, USA |
title_full_unstemmed |
North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis occurrence in offshore wind energy areas near Massachusetts and Rhode Island, USA |
title_sort |
north atlantic right whale eubalaena glacialis occurrence in offshore wind energy areas near massachusetts and rhode island, usa |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00827 https://doaj.org/article/89016692409843eaa2700f908631f357 |
genre |
Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale |
genre_facet |
Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale |
op_source |
Endangered Species Research, Vol 34, Pp 45-59 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v34/p45-59/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00827 https://doaj.org/article/89016692409843eaa2700f908631f357 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00827 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
34 |
container_start_page |
45 |
op_container_end_page |
59 |
_version_ |
1766404333315817472 |