Blue Whale Behavioral Response Study & Field Testing of the New Bioacoustic Probe

• Main Authors: Oleson, Erin M., Calambokidis, John, McKenna, Megan, Hidebrand, John. A.
• Other Authors: NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION HONOLULU HI INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI INFORMATION CENTER
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Ecology; Biological Oceanography; Physical and Dynamic Oceanography; Acoustic Detection and Detectors; *UNDERWATER TRACKING; *MARINE BIOLOGICAL NOISE; *WHALES; *BIOACOUSTICS; ACOUSTIC SIGNALS; ACOUSTIC DATA; DOLPHINS(MAMMALS); ACOUSTIC DETECTORS; CETACEA; OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA; FIELD TESTS; PROBES; IMAGE PROCESSING; AQUATIC ANIMALS; PCAD(POPULATION CONSEQUENCES OF ACOUSTIC DISTURBANCES); AIS(ACOUSTIC IMAGING SYSTEMS); BLUE WHALES; ODONTOCETES; HARP(HIGH FREQUENCY ACOUSTIC RECORDING PACKAGES); Lanes; Pacific; Scripps; Blue whale
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA541559; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA541559

Task 1: Blue Whales Behavioral Response Study The behavioral response of large whales to commercial shipping and other low-frequency anthropogenic sound is not well understood. The PCAD model (NRC 2005) for assessing sound impacts on marine mammals calls for studies on sound source characteristics and the behavioral impact of specific sources on individual animals. Our goal is to understand the vocal and behavioral response of individual blue whales to high-intensity ship noise, resulting from the close geographic association between known foraging grounds and commercial shipping lanes off California. To accomplish this goal we deploy acoustic recording tags on individual blue whales within and near the shipping lanes while concurrently monitoring shipping traffic using AIS. The behavioral reaction of the whale to ship is then evaluated based on the tag data, the overall noise level, how close the ship approached. Task 2: Field testing the new Bioacoustic Probe: Tagging studies of odontocetes have yielded incredible insights into the diving, movement, and daily activities patterns of several species. Missing from most of these studies has been information on the acoustic environment in which the animal is living and the sounds produced by the animals during different activities. Working with Greeneridge Sciences, we will use the new Acousonde to initiate studies of beaked whale and other large odontocete whale species in the Pacific. Although our aim is to address several scientific questions relating to diving behavior, vocal behavior, and swimming mechanics with the data collected during these deployments, the primary goal of this project is to conduct field tests of the Acousonde with several species of cetacean and to refine the operation of the tag for robust field operation in the future. Prepared in cooperation with University of California, San Diego, CA; Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA; and Cascadia Research Collective, Olympia, WA.