Evaluating Impacts of Deep Oil Spills on Oceanic Marine Mammals

• Main Author: Fraiser, Kaitlin E.
• Format: Book Part
• Language: unknown
• Published: Digital Commons @ University of South Florida 2020
• Subjects: Marine mammal; Sperm whale; Beaked whale; Dolphin Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM); Megafauna; Mammal; Odontocete; Bryde’s whale; Spotted dolphin; Stenella; Kogia; Echolocation; Visual survey; Ship strike; Noise Air gun; HARP; Mississippi Canyon; Green Canyon; Risso’s dolphin; Pilot whale; Tag Aerial survey; Habitat model; Loop Current; AUV; Satellite; Genetic; Monitoring; Dispersant; Hazing; Deterrent; NRDA; Cetacean; Disturbance; NOAA; Stock; Restoration; Mexico; Seismic; Life Sciences; Marine Biology
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cimage_pubs/154; https://doi.org//10.1007/978-3-030-12963-7_25

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill may be indicative of future large, deep spills that may occur in the coming decades. Given that future deepwater spills are possible, critical considerations include (1) establishing baselines for oceanic marine mammal and populations in at-risk areas, (2) understanding the implications of response choices for oceanic marine mammals, (3) designing studies with adequate coverage for post-spill monitoring, and (4) identifying effective strategies for oceanic marine mammal restoration. In this chapter, we consider these four stages in the context of a series of hypothetical oil spill scenarios, identifying ways that lessons learned from the DWH oil spill and prior events can be applied to future disasters.