Interactions Among Behavioral Responses of Baleen Whales to Acoustic Stimuli, Oceanographic Features, and Prey Availability
The long term goals of this collaborative research effort, which is coordinated with other ONR and Navy-funded biological research projects, are two-fold. We aim to first determine how the distribution, abundance, and behavior of prey affects the foraging behavior and ecology of baleen whales off th...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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2012
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| Online Access: | http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA573481 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA573481 |
| Summary: | The long term goals of this collaborative research effort, which is coordinated with other ONR and Navy-funded biological research projects, are two-fold. We aim to first determine how the distribution, abundance, and behavior of prey affects the foraging behavior and ecology of baleen whales off the California coast. Baleen whales employ a variety of feeding strategies that relate to the behavior of their prey and understanding these is paramount to being able to assess changes in their feeding ecology arising from a host of natural and human factors. Second, we will use these empirical findings on how prey affects whale behavior to more completely describe and quantify behavioral responses of baleen whales to controlled exposure experiments and describe the energetic consequences of observed changes in behavior. In order to determine whether and how behavioral changes occurring in baleen whales during controlled exposure experiments are related to sound in their environment, we need to better understand and quantify whether and how changes in their prey environment account for the behavioral change as well. In baleen whales, the behavioral states most commonly observed are feeding, traveling, resting, and socializing. Blue whales visit the southern California Bight in the summer months primarily to forage, and therefore understanding baseline behavior (such as how changes in their prey affect the likelihood of changing behavioral states) is necessary to adequately describe, understand, and effectively mitigate the affects of anthropogenic sound, including military sonar, on these animals. The original document contains color images. Prepared in collaboration with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Grove, CA. |
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