Detection probability and density estimation of fin whales by a Seaglider

• Published in: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
• Main Authors: Fregosi, Selene, Harris, Danielle V., Matsumoto, Haruyoshi, Mellinger, David K., Martin, Stephen W., Matsuyama, Brian, Barlow, Jay, Klinck, Holger
• Other Authors: Office of Naval Research, University of St Andrews. Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews. School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews. Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews. Arctic Research Centre
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: QL Zoology; GC Oceanography; NDAS; AC; MCC; QL; GC; Pacific; Balaenoptera physalus; Fin whale
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/27449; https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0014793

Funding: Funding for this work was provided by Living Marine Resources Program Grant No. N39430-14-C-1435 and Office of Naval Research Grant No. N00014-15-1‐2142. S.F. was supported by the Department of Defense National Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship. This is Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) Contribution No. 5101. A single-hydrophone ocean glider was deployed within a cabled hydrophone array to demonstrate a framework for estimating population density of fin whales ( Balaenoptera physalus) from a passive acoustic glider. The array was used to estimate tracks of acoustically active whales. These tracks became detection trials to model the detection function for glider-recorded 360-s windows containing fin whale 20-Hz pulses using a generalized additive model. Detection probability was dependent on both horizontal distance and low-frequency glider flow noise. At the median 40-Hz spectral level of 97 dB re 1 μPa2/Hz, detection probability was near one at horizontal distance zero with an effective detection radius of 17.1 km [coefficient of variation (CV) = 0.13]. Using estimates of acoustic availability and acoustically active group size from tagged and tracked fin whales, respectively, density of fin whales was estimated as 1.8 whales per 1000 km2 (CV = 0.55). A plot sampling density estimate for the same area and time, estimated from array data alone, was 1.3 whales per 1000 km2 (CV = 0.51). While the presented density estimates are from a small demonstration experiment and should be used with caution, the framework presented here advances our understanding of the potential use of gliders for cetacean density estimation. Publisher PDF Peer reviewed