Validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote Antarctic blue whales
Since its near extirpation during the period of industrial whaling in the early and mid 20th century, the once common Antarctic blue whale Balaenoptera musculus intermedia remains extremely rare. While annual systematic surveys around Antarctica from 1978 to 2009 recorded only 216 visual encounters...
Published in: | Endangered Species Research |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Inter-Research
2015
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00642 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118557 |
id |
ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:118557 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivtasecite:oai:ecite.utas.edu.au:118557 2023-05-15T13:49:03+02:00 Validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote Antarctic blue whales Miller, BS Barlow, J Calderan, S Collins, K Leaper, R Olson, P Ensor, P Peel, D Donnelly, D Andrews-Goff, V Olavarria, C Owen, K Rekdahl, M Schmitt, N Wadley, V Gedamke, J Gales, N Double, MC 2015 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00642 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118557 en eng Inter-Research http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118557/1/118557 - validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/esr00642 Miller, BS and Barlow, J and Calderan, S and Collins, K and Leaper, R and Olson, P and Ensor, P and Peel, D and Donnelly, D and Andrews-Goff, V and Olavarria, C and Owen, K and Rekdahl, M and Schmitt, N and Wadley, V and Gedamke, J and Gales, N and Double, MC, Validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote Antarctic blue whales, Endangered Species Research, 26, (3) pp. 257-269. ISSN 1863-5407 (2015) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118557 Biological Sciences Evolutionary Biology Biogeography and Phylogeography Refereed Article PeerReviewed 2015 ftunivtasecite https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00642 2019-12-13T22:17:50Z Since its near extirpation during the period of industrial whaling in the early and mid 20th century, the once common Antarctic blue whale Balaenoptera musculus intermedia remains extremely rare. While annual systematic surveys around Antarctica from 1978 to 2009 recorded only 216 visual encounters of this species, their loud and distinctive calls were detected frequently throughout the Southern Ocean. We describe and assess a new method for locating these whales by acoustically detecting their vocalisations, tracking the location of their calls, and finally locating the whales visually. This methodology was employed during an Antarctic research voyage from 140E to 170W, between January and March 2013. The loudest song unit (a 26Hz tone) was detected at all 298 recording sites south of 52S. Acoustically derived bearings from these whales enabled visual observers to eventually sight the whales, often hundreds of kilometres from initial acoustic detections. Received sound pressure levels of detections increased with decreasing range to several hotspots where both song and non-song calls were detected. Within hotspots, short-range acoustic localisation yielded 33 visual encounters of Antarctic blue whales (group size: 1 to 5 whales) over a 31d period south of 60S. These results demonstrate that acoustic tracking provides the capacity to locate Antarctic blue whales widely dispersed over many hundreds of kilometres, as well as the capacity to acoustically track individual whales for days at a time irrespective of most weather conditions. Thus, passive acoustic localisation is a reliable and efficient method to track Antarctic blue whales, and this technique should be considered for future studies of these iconic animals. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Southern Ocean eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) Antarctic Southern Ocean Endangered Species Research 26 3 257 269 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
eCite UTAS (University of Tasmania) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtasecite |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences Evolutionary Biology Biogeography and Phylogeography |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Evolutionary Biology Biogeography and Phylogeography Miller, BS Barlow, J Calderan, S Collins, K Leaper, R Olson, P Ensor, P Peel, D Donnelly, D Andrews-Goff, V Olavarria, C Owen, K Rekdahl, M Schmitt, N Wadley, V Gedamke, J Gales, N Double, MC Validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote Antarctic blue whales |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences Evolutionary Biology Biogeography and Phylogeography |
description |
Since its near extirpation during the period of industrial whaling in the early and mid 20th century, the once common Antarctic blue whale Balaenoptera musculus intermedia remains extremely rare. While annual systematic surveys around Antarctica from 1978 to 2009 recorded only 216 visual encounters of this species, their loud and distinctive calls were detected frequently throughout the Southern Ocean. We describe and assess a new method for locating these whales by acoustically detecting their vocalisations, tracking the location of their calls, and finally locating the whales visually. This methodology was employed during an Antarctic research voyage from 140E to 170W, between January and March 2013. The loudest song unit (a 26Hz tone) was detected at all 298 recording sites south of 52S. Acoustically derived bearings from these whales enabled visual observers to eventually sight the whales, often hundreds of kilometres from initial acoustic detections. Received sound pressure levels of detections increased with decreasing range to several hotspots where both song and non-song calls were detected. Within hotspots, short-range acoustic localisation yielded 33 visual encounters of Antarctic blue whales (group size: 1 to 5 whales) over a 31d period south of 60S. These results demonstrate that acoustic tracking provides the capacity to locate Antarctic blue whales widely dispersed over many hundreds of kilometres, as well as the capacity to acoustically track individual whales for days at a time irrespective of most weather conditions. Thus, passive acoustic localisation is a reliable and efficient method to track Antarctic blue whales, and this technique should be considered for future studies of these iconic animals. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Miller, BS Barlow, J Calderan, S Collins, K Leaper, R Olson, P Ensor, P Peel, D Donnelly, D Andrews-Goff, V Olavarria, C Owen, K Rekdahl, M Schmitt, N Wadley, V Gedamke, J Gales, N Double, MC |
author_facet |
Miller, BS Barlow, J Calderan, S Collins, K Leaper, R Olson, P Ensor, P Peel, D Donnelly, D Andrews-Goff, V Olavarria, C Owen, K Rekdahl, M Schmitt, N Wadley, V Gedamke, J Gales, N Double, MC |
author_sort |
Miller, BS |
title |
Validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote Antarctic blue whales |
title_short |
Validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote Antarctic blue whales |
title_full |
Validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote Antarctic blue whales |
title_fullStr |
Validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote Antarctic blue whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
Validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote Antarctic blue whales |
title_sort |
validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote antarctic blue whales |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00642 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118557 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118557/1/118557 - validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation.pdf http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/esr00642 Miller, BS and Barlow, J and Calderan, S and Collins, K and Leaper, R and Olson, P and Ensor, P and Peel, D and Donnelly, D and Andrews-Goff, V and Olavarria, C and Owen, K and Rekdahl, M and Schmitt, N and Wadley, V and Gedamke, J and Gales, N and Double, MC, Validating the reliability of passive acoustic localisation: a novel method for encountering rare and remote Antarctic blue whales, Endangered Species Research, 26, (3) pp. 257-269. ISSN 1863-5407 (2015) [Refereed Article] http://ecite.utas.edu.au/118557 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00642 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
26 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
257 |
op_container_end_page |
269 |
_version_ |
1766250709431353344 |