Quantifying behavior and collision risk of humpback whales surfacing near large ships: implications for detection and avoidance
Lethal collisions between ships and whales (‘ship strikes’) are a pressing management issue across the globe, and recent work highlights the need for better information to support collision risk avoidance by mariners. Using a ship-based observer stationed on the bow, we recorded the behavior of hump...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:976abc935e824fcb84eae8ab2869a3b2 2023-08-20T04:06:40+02:00 Quantifying behavior and collision risk of humpback whales surfacing near large ships: implications for detection and avoidance JE Helm SM Gende PM Lukacs 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01246 https://doaj.org/article/976abc935e824fcb84eae8ab2869a3b2 EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v51/p115-126/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr01246 https://doaj.org/article/976abc935e824fcb84eae8ab2869a3b2 Endangered Species Research, Vol 51, Pp 115-126 (2023) Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01246 2023-07-30T00:39:03Z Lethal collisions between ships and whales (‘ship strikes’) are a pressing management issue across the globe, and recent work highlights the need for better information to support collision risk avoidance by mariners. Using a ship-based observer stationed on the bow, we recorded the behavior of humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae surfacing around large cruise ships transiting Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, one of the largest marine protected areas in North America. We documented surfacing bouts (i.e. series of surfacings when whales breathe between deeper foraging dives) over 460 h of observation from 65 cruises. We detected few surfacings per bout (mean = 2.9) and observed a moderate within-bout submergence time (median = 20.1 s), showing that whales are unavailable for detection during the majority of their time near the surface. We then used these data to parameterize a modified mark-recapture model to estimate the probability of a whale surfacing before and after first detection by mariners. The estimated probability that a whale surfaced prior to detection was moderate (0.54; 95% credible interval [CRI]: 0.52-0.57), indicating that often, the first detected cue (e.g. a blow or a visible fluke) was not the first cue produced (i.e. available to be detected). The probability that a whale remained near the surface following detection was high (median = 0.87; 95% CRI: 0.85-0.88). This indicates that whales likely remain at risk of collision following detection, enabling mariners to evaluate ship-speed-specific avoidance maneuvers based on initial sighting distances to decrease collision risk. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Glacier Bay Endangered Species Research 51 115 126 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
spellingShingle |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 JE Helm SM Gende PM Lukacs Quantifying behavior and collision risk of humpback whales surfacing near large ships: implications for detection and avoidance |
topic_facet |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
description |
Lethal collisions between ships and whales (‘ship strikes’) are a pressing management issue across the globe, and recent work highlights the need for better information to support collision risk avoidance by mariners. Using a ship-based observer stationed on the bow, we recorded the behavior of humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae surfacing around large cruise ships transiting Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, one of the largest marine protected areas in North America. We documented surfacing bouts (i.e. series of surfacings when whales breathe between deeper foraging dives) over 460 h of observation from 65 cruises. We detected few surfacings per bout (mean = 2.9) and observed a moderate within-bout submergence time (median = 20.1 s), showing that whales are unavailable for detection during the majority of their time near the surface. We then used these data to parameterize a modified mark-recapture model to estimate the probability of a whale surfacing before and after first detection by mariners. The estimated probability that a whale surfaced prior to detection was moderate (0.54; 95% credible interval [CRI]: 0.52-0.57), indicating that often, the first detected cue (e.g. a blow or a visible fluke) was not the first cue produced (i.e. available to be detected). The probability that a whale remained near the surface following detection was high (median = 0.87; 95% CRI: 0.85-0.88). This indicates that whales likely remain at risk of collision following detection, enabling mariners to evaluate ship-speed-specific avoidance maneuvers based on initial sighting distances to decrease collision risk. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
JE Helm SM Gende PM Lukacs |
author_facet |
JE Helm SM Gende PM Lukacs |
author_sort |
JE Helm |
title |
Quantifying behavior and collision risk of humpback whales surfacing near large ships: implications for detection and avoidance |
title_short |
Quantifying behavior and collision risk of humpback whales surfacing near large ships: implications for detection and avoidance |
title_full |
Quantifying behavior and collision risk of humpback whales surfacing near large ships: implications for detection and avoidance |
title_fullStr |
Quantifying behavior and collision risk of humpback whales surfacing near large ships: implications for detection and avoidance |
title_full_unstemmed |
Quantifying behavior and collision risk of humpback whales surfacing near large ships: implications for detection and avoidance |
title_sort |
quantifying behavior and collision risk of humpback whales surfacing near large ships: implications for detection and avoidance |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01246 https://doaj.org/article/976abc935e824fcb84eae8ab2869a3b2 |
geographic |
Glacier Bay |
geographic_facet |
Glacier Bay |
genre |
glacier Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska |
genre_facet |
glacier Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska |
op_source |
Endangered Species Research, Vol 51, Pp 115-126 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v51/p115-126/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr01246 https://doaj.org/article/976abc935e824fcb84eae8ab2869a3b2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01246 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
51 |
container_start_page |
115 |
op_container_end_page |
126 |
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1774717945374572544 |