Using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico
Acoustic exposure and behavior of 8 sperm whales were recorded with acoustic and movement-recording tags before, during and after 5 separate 1-2 h controlled sound exposures of industry-provided airgun arrays. None of the 8 whales changed behavioral state (7 foraging, 1 resting) following the start...
Published in: | Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2009
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Online Access: | https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/using-atsea-experiments-to-study-the-effects-of-airguns-on-the-foraging-behavior-of-sperm-whales-in-the-gulf-of-mexico(544e90a9-ed32-48f3-8b58-94ec90a11b55).html https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2009.02.008 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67349210001&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/544e90a9-ed32-48f3-8b58-94ec90a11b55 2023-05-15T17:59:27+02:00 Using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico Miller, Patrick Johnson, Mark Madsen, P. T. Biassoni, N. Quero, M. Tyack, Peter Lloyd 2009-07 https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/using-atsea-experiments-to-study-the-effects-of-airguns-on-the-foraging-behavior-of-sperm-whales-in-the-gulf-of-mexico(544e90a9-ed32-48f3-8b58-94ec90a11b55).html https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2009.02.008 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67349210001&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Miller , P , Johnson , M , Madsen , P T , Biassoni , N , Quero , M & Tyack , P L 2009 , ' Using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico ' , Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers , vol. 56 , no. 7 , pp. 1168-1181 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2009.02.008 Effects of noise Airguns Sperm whale Avoidance Foraging behavior Locomotion ACOUSTIC RECORDING TAG HIGH-LATITUDE HABITAT PHYSETER-MACROCEPHALUS MARINE MAMMALS MESOPLODON-DENSIROSTRIS ECHOLOCATION ABUNDANCE PREY CETACEANS SOUND article 2009 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2009.02.008 2022-07-21T06:59:55Z Acoustic exposure and behavior of 8 sperm whales were recorded with acoustic and movement-recording tags before, during and after 5 separate 1-2 h controlled sound exposures of industry-provided airgun arrays. None of the 8 whales changed behavioral state (7 foraging, 1 resting) following the start of ramp-up at distances of 7-13 km, or full array exposures at 1-13 km. The most closely approached whale rested throughout exposure but started a foraging dive shortly after the airguns ceased, possibly indicating a delay in foraging during exposure. Using visual tracking and dead-reckoning of tagged animals, we found that their direction-of-movement was random with respect to the airguns, but correlated with their direction-of-movement just prior to the start of exposure, indicating that the tested whales did not show horizontal avoidance of the airguns. Oscillations in pitch generated by swimming movements during foraging dives were on average 6% lower during exposure than during the immediately following post-exposure period, with all 7 foraging whales exhibiting less pitching (p = 0.014). Buzz rates, a proxy for attempts to capture prey, were 19% lower during exposure but given natural variation in buzz rates and the small numbers of whales, this effect was not statistically significant (P=0.141). Though additional studies are strongly recommended, these initial results indicate that sperm whales in the highly exposed Gulf of Mexico habitat do not exhibit avoidance reactions to airguns, but suggest they are affected at ranges well beyond those currently regulated due to more subtle effects on their foraging behavior. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale University of St Andrews: Research Portal Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 56 7 1168 1181 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
topic |
Effects of noise Airguns Sperm whale Avoidance Foraging behavior Locomotion ACOUSTIC RECORDING TAG HIGH-LATITUDE HABITAT PHYSETER-MACROCEPHALUS MARINE MAMMALS MESOPLODON-DENSIROSTRIS ECHOLOCATION ABUNDANCE PREY CETACEANS SOUND |
spellingShingle |
Effects of noise Airguns Sperm whale Avoidance Foraging behavior Locomotion ACOUSTIC RECORDING TAG HIGH-LATITUDE HABITAT PHYSETER-MACROCEPHALUS MARINE MAMMALS MESOPLODON-DENSIROSTRIS ECHOLOCATION ABUNDANCE PREY CETACEANS SOUND Miller, Patrick Johnson, Mark Madsen, P. T. Biassoni, N. Quero, M. Tyack, Peter Lloyd Using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico |
topic_facet |
Effects of noise Airguns Sperm whale Avoidance Foraging behavior Locomotion ACOUSTIC RECORDING TAG HIGH-LATITUDE HABITAT PHYSETER-MACROCEPHALUS MARINE MAMMALS MESOPLODON-DENSIROSTRIS ECHOLOCATION ABUNDANCE PREY CETACEANS SOUND |
description |
Acoustic exposure and behavior of 8 sperm whales were recorded with acoustic and movement-recording tags before, during and after 5 separate 1-2 h controlled sound exposures of industry-provided airgun arrays. None of the 8 whales changed behavioral state (7 foraging, 1 resting) following the start of ramp-up at distances of 7-13 km, or full array exposures at 1-13 km. The most closely approached whale rested throughout exposure but started a foraging dive shortly after the airguns ceased, possibly indicating a delay in foraging during exposure. Using visual tracking and dead-reckoning of tagged animals, we found that their direction-of-movement was random with respect to the airguns, but correlated with their direction-of-movement just prior to the start of exposure, indicating that the tested whales did not show horizontal avoidance of the airguns. Oscillations in pitch generated by swimming movements during foraging dives were on average 6% lower during exposure than during the immediately following post-exposure period, with all 7 foraging whales exhibiting less pitching (p = 0.014). Buzz rates, a proxy for attempts to capture prey, were 19% lower during exposure but given natural variation in buzz rates and the small numbers of whales, this effect was not statistically significant (P=0.141). Though additional studies are strongly recommended, these initial results indicate that sperm whales in the highly exposed Gulf of Mexico habitat do not exhibit avoidance reactions to airguns, but suggest they are affected at ranges well beyond those currently regulated due to more subtle effects on their foraging behavior. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Miller, Patrick Johnson, Mark Madsen, P. T. Biassoni, N. Quero, M. Tyack, Peter Lloyd |
author_facet |
Miller, Patrick Johnson, Mark Madsen, P. T. Biassoni, N. Quero, M. Tyack, Peter Lloyd |
author_sort |
Miller, Patrick |
title |
Using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico |
title_short |
Using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico |
title_full |
Using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico |
title_fullStr |
Using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico |
title_full_unstemmed |
Using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico |
title_sort |
using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the gulf of mexico |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/using-atsea-experiments-to-study-the-effects-of-airguns-on-the-foraging-behavior-of-sperm-whales-in-the-gulf-of-mexico(544e90a9-ed32-48f3-8b58-94ec90a11b55).html https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2009.02.008 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67349210001&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
op_source |
Miller , P , Johnson , M , Madsen , P T , Biassoni , N , Quero , M & Tyack , P L 2009 , ' Using at-sea experiments to study the effects of airguns on the foraging behavior of sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico ' , Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers , vol. 56 , no. 7 , pp. 1168-1181 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2009.02.008 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2009.02.008 |
container_title |
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers |
container_volume |
56 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
1168 |
op_container_end_page |
1181 |
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