Behavioral responses of satellite tracked Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) to mid-frequency active sonar
Date
17/06/2019Author
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Abstract
The vulnerability of beaked whales (Family: Ziphiidae) to intense sound exposure has led to interest in their behavioral responses to mid‐frequency active sonar (MFAS, 3–8 kHz). Here we present satellite‐transmitting tag movement and dive behavior records from Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) tagged in advance of naval sonar exercises at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) in the Bahamas. This represents one of the largest samples of beaked whales individually tracked during sonar operations (n = 7). The majority of individuals (five of seven) were displaced 28–68 km after the onset of sonar exposure and returned to the AUTEC range 2–4 days after exercises ended. Modeled sound pressure received levels were available during the tracking of four individuals and three of those individuals showed declines from initial maxima of 145–172 dB re 1 μPa to maxima of 70–150 dB re 1 μPa following displacements. Dive behavior data from tags showed a continuation of deep diving activity consistent with foraging during MFAS exposure periods, but also suggested reductions in time spent on deep dives during initial exposure periods. These data provide new insights into behavioral responses to MFAS and have important implications for modeling the population consequences of disturbance.
Citation
Joyce , T W , Durban , J W , Claridge , D E , Dunn , C A , Hickmott , L S , Fearnbach , H , Dolan , K & Moretti , D 2019 , ' Behavioral responses of satellite tracked Blainville's beaked whales ( Mesoplodon densirostris ) to mid-frequency active sonar ' , Marine Mammal Science , vol. Early View . https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12624
Publication
Marine Mammal Science
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0824-0469Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Marine Mammal Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Marine Mammalogy. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Description
Funding support for tagging was provided by the US Navy's Office of Naval Research and Living Marine Resources program, the Chief of Naval Operations' Energy and Environmental Readiness Division and the NOAA Fisheries Ocean Acoustics Program. Trevor Joyce was supported by a National Research Council postdoctoral research associateship, hosted by NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center.Collections
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