Baleen whale acoustic ecology with focus on minke whales (Balaenopteraacutorostrata) and reference to anthropogenic noise
Passive acoustic approaches for studying marine mammals have developed substantially over the past decade. Advances in technology now allow data collection in remote areas and over extended timescales. The first two chapters of this thesis focused on the application of passive acoustics for monitori...
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2013
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| Online Access: | https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:8-diss-158793 https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/diss_mods_00015879 https://macau.uni-kiel.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/dissertation_derivate_00005781/Risch_Denise.pdf |
| Summary: | Passive acoustic approaches for studying marine mammals have developed substantially over the past decade. Advances in technology now allow data collection in remote areas and over extended timescales. The first two chapters of this thesis focused on the application of passive acoustics for monitoring migratory baleen whales in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. The development and application of new localization algorithms showed how small-scale arrays can be used to obtain baseline data about the acoustic behavior of individuals, which will help to improve interpretation of longterm acoustic data sets. Acoustic monitoring in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) revealed seasonal peaks of acoustic abundance for right (Eubalaena glacialis) and sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) in spring and fall, respectively. Both species are primarily present during these two seasons and to a lesser extent in winter and summer, indicating the importance of this area as part of their migration route. Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) were acoustically present year-round, although song production was reduced during summer. While recorded on only a few days of the entire period, blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) song was detected near SBNMS in three separate years. There is considerable uncertainty concerning migration routes, winter calving habitats and thus population structure of North Atlantic minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata). Given that this species is still being hunted across its summer range, this uncertainty has important conservation and management implications. In chapters III-V I used 3.5 years of acoustic array data from the Gulf of Maine to describe the species' vocal repertoire, examine individual calling behavior and provide first source level estimates. Based on these data, an automatic detector was developed and applied to year-round data from several sites along the US East coast and beyond to track minke whale migration. Minke whales produced three call categories at a mean source level ... |
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