Exploring movement patterns and changing distributions of baleen whales in the western North Atlantic using a decade of passive acoustic data

• Published in: Global Change Biology
• Main Authors: Davis, Genevieve E., Baumgartner, Mark F., Corkeron, Peter, Bell, Joel, Berchok, Catherine L., Bonnell, Julianne M., Bort Thornton, Jacqueline, Brault, Solange, Buchanan, Gary, Cholewiak, Danielle, Clark, Christopher W., Delarue, Julien, Hatch, Leila, Klinck, Holger, Kraus, Scott D., Martin, Bruce, Mellinger, David K., Moors-Murphy, Hilary, Nieukirk, Sharon, Nowacek, Douglas P., Parks, Susan E., Parry, Dawn, Pegg, Nicole, Read, Andrew J., Rice, Aaron N., Risch, Denise, Scott, Alyssa, Soldevilla, Melissa, Stafford, Kathleen M., Stanistreet, Joy, Summers, Erin, Todd, Sean, Van Parijs, Sofie M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Wiley 2020
• Subjects: baleen whales; changes in distribution; conservation; North Atlantic Ocean; passive acoustic monitoring; seasonal occurrence; Greenland; Parry; Todd; Thornton; Balaenoptera acutorostrata; baleen whale; Eubalaena glacialis; Megaptera novaeangliae; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1912/26030

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Davis, G. E., Baumgartner, M. F., Corkeron, P. J., Bell, J., Berchok, C., Bonnell, J. M., Thornton, J. B., Brault, S., Buchanan, G. A., Cholewiak, D. M., Clark, C. W., Delarue, J., Hatch, L. T., Klinck, H., Kraus, S. D., Martin, B., Mellinger, D. K., Moors-Murphy, H., Nieukirk, S., Nowacek, D. P., Parks, S. E., Parry, D., Pegg, N., Read, A. J., Rice, A. N., Risch, D., Scott, A., Soldevilla, M. S., Stafford, K. M., Stanistreet, J. E., Summers, E., Todd, S., & Van Parijs, S. M. Exploring movement patterns and changing distributions of baleen whales in the western North Atlantic using a decade of passive acoustic data. Global Change Biology, (2020): 1-30, doi:10.1111/gcb.15191. Six baleen whale species are found in the temperate western North Atlantic Ocean, with limited information existing on the distribution and movement patterns for most. There is mounting evidence of distributional shifts in many species, including marine mammals, likely because of climate‐driven changes in ocean temperature and circulation. Previous acoustic studies examined the occurrence of minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata ) and North Atlantic right whales (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis ). This study assesses the acoustic presence of humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae ), sei (B. borealis ), fin (B. physalus ), and blue whales (B. musculus ) over a decade, based on daily detections of their vocalizations. Data collected from 2004 to 2014 on 281 bottom‐mounted recorders, totaling 35,033 days, were processed using automated detection software and screened for each species' presence. A published study on NARW acoustics revealed significant changes in occurrence patterns between the periods of 2004–2010 and 2011–2014; therefore, these same time periods were examined here. All four species were present from the Southeast United States to Greenland; humpback whales were also present in the ...