Prey Fields and Habitat of Deep Divering Odontocetes: 3D Characterization and Modeling of Beaked and Sperm Whale Foraging Areas in the Tongue of the Ocean

• Main Authors: Nowacek, Douglas P, Laurent, Louis S, Moretti, David J, Halpin, Patrick N
• Other Authors: NAVAL UNDERSEA WARFARE CENTER DIV NEWPORT RI DEPT OF ENGINEERING TEST AND EVALUATION
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Ecology; Biological Oceanography; *DEEP DIVING; *HABITATS; *WHALES; BIOMASS; DATA ACQUISITION; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; STATISTICAL ANALYSIS; *PREY FIELDS; DEEP DIVING ODONTOCETES; BEAKED WHALES; SPERM WHALES; FORAGING AREAS; TONGUE OF THE OCEAN; BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS; Pratt; Sperm whale
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA602533; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA602533

The physical and biological characteristics of the areas inhabited by deep diving odontocetes are poorly understood. Our long term goals are: i) to measure and characterize the biomass in areas and at depths inhabited by beaked and sperm whales; ii) to measure and characterize the physics of these environments; iii) to assemble the characteristics measured (i) and (ii) into a depth integrated, 3- dimensional habitat model; the model will include other dependent and independent data, e.g., chlorophyll and depth, respectively. Our final long term goal is to then apply the habitat model produced to other geographic areas to assess their likelihood as beaked and sperm whale habitat. The past year has been spent in three primary tasks: i) ongoing analyses of data collected and preparation of publications from the these data, which are primarily from two sources cruises in 2008 in the Bahamas and several cruises off Cape Hatteras concurrent with tagging of short-fin pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) near the Cape Hatteras shelf break. The technical objectives were: i) to develop statistical models for echoes generated by mutli-frequency scientific echosounders; ii) to compare beaked whale echolocation activity during periods when our echosounders were off vs on; and iii) collect data on prey fields and physical oceanography concurrent with multi-sensor tagging of short finned pilot whales near the Cape Hatteras shelf break; and iv) to develop Bayesian state-space animal movement models that can be used in the overall habitat models. Prepared in collaboration with the Nicholas School of the Environment & Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, and Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA.