Search

© 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 Caribbean. All species occurred throughout all regions in the winter, suggesting that baleen whales are widely distributed during these months. Each of the species showed significant changes in acoustic occurrence after 2010. Similar to NARWs, sei whales had higher acoustic occurrence in mid‐Atlantic regions after 2010. Fin, blue, and sei whales were more frequently detected in the northern latitudes of the study area after 2010. Despite this general northward shift, all four species were detected less on the Scotian Shelf area after 2010, matching documented shifts in prey availability in this region. A decade of acoustic observations have shown important distributional changes over the range of baleen whales, mirroring known climatic shifts and identifying new habitats that will require fu, We thank Chris Pelkie, David Wiley, Michael Thompson, Chris Tessaglia‐Hymes, Eric Matzen, Chris Tremblay, Lance Garrison, Anurag Kumar, John Hildebrand, Lynne Hodge, Russell Charif, Kathleen Dudzinski, and Ann Warde for help with project planning, field work support, and data management. For all the support and advice, thanks to the NEFSC Protected Species Branch, especially the passive acoustics group, Josh Hatch, and Leah Crowe. We thank the field and crew teams on all the ships that helped in the numerous deployments and recoveries. This research was funded and supported by many organizations, specified by projects as follows: data recordings from region 1 were provided by K. Stafford (funding: National Science Foundation #NSF‐ARC 0532611). Region 2 data: D. K. Mellinger and S. Nieukirk, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) PMEL contribution #5055 (funding: NOAA and the Office of Naval Research #N00014–03–1–0099, NOAA #NA06OAR4600100, US Navy #N00244‐08‐1‐0029, N00244‐09‐1‐0079, and N00244‐10‐1‐0047). Region 3A data: D. Risch (funding: NOAA and Navy N45 programs). Region 3 data: H. Moors‐Murphy and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (2005–2014 data), and the Whitehead Lab of Dalhousie University (eastern Scotian Shelf data; logistical support by A. Cogswell, J. Bartholette, A. Hartling, and vessel CCGS Hudson crew). Emerald Basin and Roseway Basin Guardbuoy data, deployment, and funding: Akoostix Inc. Region 3 Emerald Bank and Roseway Basin 2004 data: D. K. Mellinger and S. Nieukirk, NOAA PMEL contribution #5055 (funding: NOAA). Region 4 data: S. Parks (funding: NOAA and Cornell University) and E. Summers, S. Todd, J. Bort Thornton, A. N. Rice, and C. W. Clark (funding: Maine Department of Marine Resources, NOAA #NA09NMF4520418, and #NA10NMF4520291). Region 5 data: S. M. Van Parijs, D. Cholewiak, L. Hatch, C. W. Clark, D. Risch, and D. Wiley (funding: National Oceanic Partnership Program (NOPP), NOAA, and Navy N45). Region 6 data: S. M. Van Parijs and

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Malige, F., Patris, J., Buchan, S. J., Stafford, K. M., Shabangu, F., Findlay, K., Hucke-Gaete, R., Neira, S., Clark, C. W., & Glotin, H. Inter-annual decrease in pulse rate and peak frequency of Southeast Pacific blue whale song types. Scientific Reports, 10(1), (2020): 8121, doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64613-0., A decrease in the frequency of two southeast Pacific blue whale song types was examined over decades, using acoustic data from several different sources in the eastern Pacific Ocean ranging between the Equator and Chilean Patagonia. The pulse rate of the song units as well as their peak frequency were measured using two different methods (summed auto-correlation and Fourier transform). The sources of error associated with each measurement were assessed. There was a linear decline in both parameters for the more common song type (southeast Pacific song type n.2) between 1997 to 2017. An abbreviated analysis, also showed a frequency decline in the scarcer southeast Pacific song type n.1 between 1970 to 2014, revealing that both song types are declining at similar rates. We discussed the use of measuring both pulse rate and peak frequency to examine the frequency decline. Finally, a comparison of the rates of frequency decline with other song types reported in the literature and a discussion on the reasons of the frequency shift are presented., The authors thank the help of Explorasub diving center (Chile), Agrupación turística Chañaral de Aceituno (Chile), ONG Eutropia (Chile), Valparaiso university (Chile), the international institutions and research programs CTBTO, IWC, BRILAM STIC AmSud 17-STIC-01. S.J.B. thanks support from the Center for Oceanographic Research COPAS Sur-Austral, CONICYT PIA PFB31, Biology Department of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Office of Naval Research Global (awards N62909-16-2214 and N00014-17-2606), and a grant to the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Ãridas (CEAZA) “Programa Regional CONICYT R16A10003”. We thank SABIOD MI CNRS, EADM MaDICS CNRS and ANR-18-CE40-0014 SMILES supporting this research. We are grateful to colleagues at DCLDE 2018 and SOLAMAC 2018 conferences for useful comments on the preliminary version of this work. In this work we used only the free and open-source softwares Latex, Audacity and OCTAVE.

© 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 Caribbean. All species occurred throughout all regions in the winter, suggesting that baleen whales are widely distributed during these months. Each of the species showed significant changes in acoustic occurrence after 2010. Similar to NARWs, sei whales had higher acoustic occurrence in mid‐Atlantic regions after 2010. Fin, blue, and sei whales were more frequently detected in the northern latitudes of the study area after 2010. Despite this general northward shift, all four species were detected less on the Scotian Shelf area after 2010, matching documented shifts in prey availability in this region. A decade of acoustic observations have shown important distributional changes over the range of baleen whales, mirroring known climatic shifts and identifying new habitats that will require fu, We thank Chris Pelkie, David Wiley, Michael Thompson, Chris Tessaglia‐Hymes, Eric Matzen, Chris Tremblay, Lance Garrison, Anurag Kumar, John Hildebrand, Lynne Hodge, Russell Charif, Kathleen Dudzinski, and Ann Warde for help with project planning, field work support, and data management. For all the support and advice, thanks to the NEFSC Protected Species Branch, especially the passive acoustics group, Josh Hatch, and Leah Crowe. We thank the field and crew teams on all the ships that helped in the numerous deployments and recoveries. This research was funded and supported by many organizations, specified by projects as follows: data recordings from region 1 were provided by K. Stafford (funding: National Science Foundation #NSF‐ARC 0532611). Region 2 data: D. K. Mellinger and S. Nieukirk, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) PMEL contribution #5055 (funding: NOAA and the Office of Naval Research #N00014–03–1–0099, NOAA #NA06OAR4600100, US Navy #N00244‐08‐1‐0029, N00244‐09‐1‐0079, and N00244‐10‐1‐0047). Region 3A data: D. Risch (funding: NOAA and Navy N45 programs). Region 3 data: H. Moors‐Murphy and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (2005–2014 data), and the Whitehead Lab of Dalhousie University (eastern Scotian Shelf data; logistical support by A. Cogswell, J. Bartholette, A. Hartling, and vessel CCGS Hudson crew). Emerald Basin and Roseway Basin Guardbuoy data, deployment, and funding: Akoostix Inc. Region 3 Emerald Bank and Roseway Basin 2004 data: D. K. Mellinger and S. Nieukirk, NOAA PMEL contribution #5055 (funding: NOAA). Region 4 data: S. Parks (funding: NOAA and Cornell University) and E. Summers, S. Todd, J. Bort Thornton, A. N. Rice, and C. W. Clark (funding: Maine Department of Marine Resources, NOAA #NA09NMF4520418, and #NA10NMF4520291). Region 5 data: S. M. Van Parijs, D. Cholewiak, L. Hatch, C. W. Clark, D. Risch, and D. Wiley (funding: National Oceanic Partnership Program (NOPP), NOAA, and Navy N45). Region 6 data: S. M. Van Parijs and

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Malige, F., Patris, J., Buchan, S. J., Stafford, K. M., Shabangu, F., Findlay, K., Hucke-Gaete, R., Neira, S., Clark, C. W., & Glotin, H. Inter-annual decrease in pulse rate and peak frequency of Southeast Pacific blue whale song types. Scientific Reports, 10(1), (2020): 8121, doi:10.1038/s41598-020-64613-0., A decrease in the frequency of two southeast Pacific blue whale song types was examined over decades, using acoustic data from several different sources in the eastern Pacific Ocean ranging between the Equator and Chilean Patagonia. The pulse rate of the song units as well as their peak frequency were measured using two different methods (summed auto-correlation and Fourier transform). The sources of error associated with each measurement were assessed. There was a linear decline in both parameters for the more common song type (southeast Pacific song type n.2) between 1997 to 2017. An abbreviated analysis, also showed a frequency decline in the scarcer southeast Pacific song type n.1 between 1970 to 2014, revealing that both song types are declining at similar rates. We discussed the use of measuring both pulse rate and peak frequency to examine the frequency decline. Finally, a comparison of the rates of frequency decline with other song types reported in the literature and a discussion on the reasons of the frequency shift are presented., The authors thank the help of Explorasub diving center (Chile), Agrupación turística Chañaral de Aceituno (Chile), ONG Eutropia (Chile), Valparaiso university (Chile), the international institutions and research programs CTBTO, IWC, BRILAM STIC AmSud 17-STIC-01. S.J.B. thanks support from the Center for Oceanographic Research COPAS Sur-Austral, CONICYT PIA PFB31, Biology Department of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Office of Naval Research Global (awards N62909-16-2214 and N00014-17-2606), and a grant to the Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Ãridas (CEAZA) “Programa Regional CONICYT R16A10003”. We thank SABIOD MI CNRS, EADM MaDICS CNRS and ANR-18-CE40-0014 SMILES supporting this research. We are grateful to colleagues at DCLDE 2018 and SOLAMAC 2018 conferences for useful comments on the preliminary version of this work. In this work we used only the free and open-source softwares Latex, Audacity and OCTAVE.

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Royal Society Open Science 5 (2018): 171298, doi:10.1098/rsos.171298., The function of song has been well studied in numerous taxa and plays a role in mediating both intersexual and intrasexual interactions. Humpback whales are among few mammals who sing, but the role of sexual selection on song in this species is poorly understood. While one predominant hypothesis is that song mediates male–male interactions, the mechanism by which this may occur has never been explored. We applied metrics typically used to assess songbird interactions to examine song sequences and movement patterns of humpback whale singers. We found that males altered their song presentation in the presence of other singers; focal males increased the rate at which they switched between phrase types (p = 0.005), and tended to increase the overall evenness of their song presentation (p = 0.06) after a second male began singing. Two-singer dyads overlapped their song sequences significantly more than expected by chance. Spatial analyses revealed that change in distance between singers was related to whether both males kept singing (p = 0.012), with close approaches leading to song cessation. Overall, acoustic interactions resemble known mechanisms of mediating intrasexual interactions in songbirds. Future work should focus on more precisely resolving how changes in song presentation may be used in competition between singing males., D.M.C. was supported by an EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowship for PhD research.

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Royal Society Open Science 5 (2018): 171298, doi:10.1098/rsos.171298., The function of song has been well studied in numerous taxa and plays a role in mediating both intersexual and intrasexual interactions. Humpback whales are among few mammals who sing, but the role of sexual selection on song in this species is poorly understood. While one predominant hypothesis is that song mediates male–male interactions, the mechanism by which this may occur has never been explored. We applied metrics typically used to assess songbird interactions to examine song sequences and movement patterns of humpback whale singers. We found that males altered their song presentation in the presence of other singers; focal males increased the rate at which they switched between phrase types (p = 0.005), and tended to increase the overall evenness of their song presentation (p = 0.06) after a second male began singing. Two-singer dyads overlapped their song sequences significantly more than expected by chance. Spatial analyses revealed that change in distance between singers was related to whether both males kept singing (p = 0.012), with close approaches leading to song cessation. Overall, acoustic interactions resemble known mechanisms of mediating intrasexual interactions in songbirds. Future work should focus on more precisely resolving how changes in song presentation may be used in competition between singing males., D.M.C. was supported by an EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowship for PhD research.

Given new distribution patterns of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis) population in recent years, an improved understanding of spatio-temporal movements are imperative for the conservation of this species. While so far visual data have provided most information on NARW movements, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was used in this study in order to better capture year-round NARW presence. This project used PAM data from 2004 to 2014 collected by 19 organizations throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean. Overall, data from 324 recorders (35,600 days) were processed and analyzed using a classification and detection system. Results highlight almost year-round habitat use of the western North Atlantic Ocean, with a decrease in detections in waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in summer and fall. Data collected post 2010 showed an increased NARW presence in the mid-Atlantic region and a simultaneous decrease in the northern Gulf of Maine. In addition, NARWs were widely distributed across most regions throughout winter months. This study demonstrates that a large-scale analysis of PAM data provides significant value to understanding and tracking shifts in large whale movements over long time scales.

© The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 7 (2017): 13460, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-13359-3., Given new distribution patterns of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis) population in recent years, an improved understanding of spatio-temporal movements are imperative for the conservation of this species. While so far visual data have provided most information on NARW movements, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was used in this study in order to better capture year-round NARW presence. This project used PAM data from 2004 to 2014 collected by 19 organizations throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean. Overall, data from 324 recorders (35,600 days) were processed and analyzed using a classification and detection system. Results highlight almost year-round habitat use of the western North Atlantic Ocean, with a decrease in detections in waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in summer and fall. Data collected post 2010 showed an increased NARW presence in the mid-Atlantic region and a simultaneous decrease in the northern Gulf of Maine. In addition, NARWs were widely distributed across most regions throughout winter months. This study demonstrates that a large-scale analysis of PAM data provides significant value to understanding and tracking shifts in large whale movements over long time scales., This research was funded and supported by many organizations, specified by projects as follows: Data recordings from region 1 were provided by K. Stafford and this research effort was funded by the National Science Foundation #NSF-ARC 0532611. Region 2 data were provided by D. K. Mellinger and S. Nieukirk, funded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) #N00014–03–1–0099, NOAA #NA06OAR4600100, US Navy #N00244-08-1-0029, N00244-09-1-0079, and N00244-10-1-0047.

© The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 7 (2017): 13460, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-13359-3., Given new distribution patterns of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis) population in recent years, an improved understanding of spatio-temporal movements are imperative for the conservation of this species. While so far visual data have provided most information on NARW movements, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was used in this study in order to better capture year-round NARW presence. This project used PAM data from 2004 to 2014 collected by 19 organizations throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean. Overall, data from 324 recorders (35,600 days) were processed and analyzed using a classification and detection system. Results highlight almost year-round habitat use of the western North Atlantic Ocean, with a decrease in detections in waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in summer and fall. Data collected post 2010 showed an increased NARW presence in the mid-Atlantic region and a simultaneous decrease in the northern Gulf of Maine. In addition, NARWs were widely distributed across most regions throughout winter months. This study demonstrates that a large-scale analysis of PAM data provides significant value to understanding and tracking shifts in large whale movements over long time scales., This research was funded and supported by many organizations, specified by projects as follows: Data recordings from region 1 were provided by K. Stafford and this research effort was funded by the National Science Foundation #NSF-ARC 0532611. Region 2 data were provided by D. K. Mellinger and S. Nieukirk, funded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) #N00014–03–1–0099, NOAA #NA06OAR4600100, US Navy #N00244-08-1-0029, N00244-09-1-0079, and N00244-10-1-0047.

Given new distribution patterns of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis) population in recent years, an improved understanding of spatio-temporal movements are imperative for the conservation of this species. While so far visual data have provided most information on NARW movements, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was used in this study in order to better capture year-round NARW presence. This project used PAM data from 2004 to 2014 collected by 19 organizations throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean. Overall, data from 324 recorders (35,600 days) were processed and analyzed using a classification and detection system. Results highlight almost year-round habitat use of the western North Atlantic Ocean, with a decrease in detections in waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in summer and fall. Data collected post 2010 showed an increased NARW presence in the mid-Atlantic region and a simultaneous decrease in the northern Gulf of Maine. In addition, NARWs were widely distributed across most regions throughout winter months. This study demonstrates that a large-scale analysis of PAM data provides significant value to understanding and tracking shifts in large whale movements over long time scales.

© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Endangered Species Research 30 (2016): 239-253, doi:10.3354/esr00739., Distribution and movement patterns of Antarctic blue whales Balaenoptera musculus intermedia at large temporal and spatial scales are still poorly understood. The objective of this study was to explore spatio-temporal distribution patterns of Antarctic blue whales in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, using passive acoustic monitoring data. Multi-year data were collected between 2008 and 2013 by 11 recorders deployed in the Weddell Sea and along the Greenwich meridian. Antarctic blue whale Z-calls were detected via spectrogram cross-correlation. A Blue Whale Index was developed to quantify the proportion of time during which acoustic energy from Antarctic blue whales dominated over background noise. Our results show that Antarctic blue whales were acoustically present year-round, with most call detections between January and April. During austral summer, the number of detected calls peaked synchronously throughout the study area in most years, and hence, no directed meridional movement pattern was detectable. During austral winter, vocalizations were recorded at latitudes as high as 69°S, with sea ice cover exceeding 90%, suggesting that some Antarctic blue whales overwinter in Antarctic waters. Polynyas likely serve as an important habitat for baleen whales during austral winter, providing food and reliable access to open water for breathing. Overall, our results support increasing evidence of a complex and non-obligatory migratory behavior of Antarctic blue whales, potentially involving temporally and spatially dynamic migration routes and destinations, as well as variable timing of migration to and from the feeding grounds.

© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Endangered Species Research 30 (2016): 239-253, doi:10.3354/esr00739., Distribution and movement patterns of Antarctic blue whales Balaenoptera musculus intermedia at large temporal and spatial scales are still poorly understood. The objective of this study was to explore spatio-temporal distribution patterns of Antarctic blue whales in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, using passive acoustic monitoring data. Multi-year data were collected between 2008 and 2013 by 11 recorders deployed in the Weddell Sea and along the Greenwich meridian. Antarctic blue whale Z-calls were detected via spectrogram cross-correlation. A Blue Whale Index was developed to quantify the proportion of time during which acoustic energy from Antarctic blue whales dominated over background noise. Our results show that Antarctic blue whales were acoustically present year-round, with most call detections between January and April. During austral summer, the number of detected calls peaked synchronously throughout the study area in most years, and hence, no directed meridional movement pattern was detectable. During austral winter, vocalizations were recorded at latitudes as high as 69°S, with sea ice cover exceeding 90%, suggesting that some Antarctic blue whales overwinter in Antarctic waters. Polynyas likely serve as an important habitat for baleen whales during austral winter, providing food and reliable access to open water for breathing. Overall, our results support increasing evidence of a complex and non-obligatory migratory behavior of Antarctic blue whales, potentially involving temporally and spatially dynamic migration routes and destinations, as well as variable timing of migration to and from the feeding grounds.

This work presents a new toolkit for describing the acoustic properties of the ocean environment before, during and after a sound event caused by an underwater seismic air-gun. The toolkit uses existing sound measures, but uniquely applies these to capture the early time period (actual pulse) and late time period (reverberation and multiple arrivals). In total, 183 features are produced for each air-gun sound. This toolkit was utilized on data retrieved from a field deployment encompassing five marine autonomous recording units during a 46-day seismic air-gun survey in Baffin Bay, Greenland. Using this toolkit, a total of 147 million data points were identified from the Greenland deployment recordings. The feasibility of extracting a large number of features was then evaluated using two separate methods: a serial computer and a high performance system. Results indicate that data extraction performance took an estimated 216 hours for the serial system, and 18 hours for the high performance computer. This paper provides an analytical description of the new toolkit along with details for using it to identify relevant data., Comment: Camera copy version of the paper for publication in IEEE explore. Paper was withdrawn by the co-authors for submission to JASA Express Letters

We aim to investigate advancing the state of the art of detection, classification and localization (DCL) in the field of bioacoustics. The two primary goals are to develop transferable technologies for detection and classification in: (1) the area of advanced algorithms, such as deep learning and other methods; and (2) advanced systems, capable of real-time and archival and processing. This project will focus on long-term, continuous datasets to provide automatic recognition, minimizing human time to annotate the signals. Effort will begin by focusing on several years of multi-channel acoustic data collected in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) between 2006 and 2010. Our efforts will incorporate existing technologies in the bioacoustics signal processing community, advanced high performance computing (HPC) systems, and new approaches aimed at automatically detecting-classifying and measuring features for species-specific marine mammal sounds within passive acoustic data., Comment: Year 1 National Oceanic Partnership Program Report, sponsored ONR, NFWF. N000141210585

Goals of this research phase is to investigate advanced detection and classification pardims useful for data-mining passive large passive acoustic archives. Technical objectives are to develop and refine a High Performance Computing, Acoustic Data Accelerator (HPC-ADA) along with MATLAB based software based on time series acoustic signal Detection cLassification using Machine learning Algorithms, called DeLMA. Data scientists and biologists integrate to use the HPC-ADA and DeLMA technologies to explore data using newly developed techniques aimed at inspection of data extracted at large spatial and temporal scales., Comment: National Oceanic Partnership Program (NOPP) sponsored by ONR and NFWF

While the animal bioacoustics community at large is collecting huge amounts of acoustic data at an unprecedented pace, processing these data is problematic. Currently in bioacoustics, there is no effective way to achieve high performance computing using commericial off the shelf (COTS) or government off the shelf (GOTS) tools. Although several advances have been made in the open source and commercial software community, these offerings either support specific applications that do not integrate well with data formats in bioacoustics or they are too general. Furthermore, complex algorithms that use deep learning strategies require special considerations, such as very large libraiers of exemplars (whale sounds) readily available for algorithm training and testing. Detection-classification for passive acoustics is a data-mining strategy and our goals are aligned with best practices that appeal to the general data mining and machine learning communities where the problem of processing large data is common. Therefore, the objective of this work is to advance the state-of-the art for data-mining large passive acoustic datasets as they pertain to bioacoustics. With this basic deficiency recognized at the forefront, portions of the grant were dedicated to fostering deep-learning by way of international competitions (kaggle.com) meant to attract deep-learning solutions. The focus of this early work was targeted to make significant progress in addressing big data systems and advanced algorithms over the duration of the grant from 2012 to 2015. This early work provided simulataneous advances in systems-algorithms research while supporting various collaborations and projects., Comment: National Oceanic Partnership Program (NOPP) sponsored by ONR and NFWF

Overarching goals for this work aim to advance the state of the art for detection, classification and localization (DCL) in the field of bioacoustics. This goal is primarily achieved by building a generic framework for detection-classification (DC) using a fast, efficient and scalable architecture, demonstrating the capabilities of this system using on a variety of low-frequency mid-frequency cetacean sounds. Two primary goals are to develop transferable technologies for detection and classification in, one: the area of advanced algorithms, such as deep learning and other methods; and two: advanced systems, capable of real-time and archival processing. For each key area, we will focus on producing publications from this work and providing tools and software to the community where/when possible. Currently massive amounts of acoustic data are being collected by various institutions, corporations and national defense agencies. The long-term goal is to provide technical capability to analyze the data using automatic algorithms for (DC) based on machine intelligence. The goal of the automation is to provide effective and efficient mechanisms by which to process large acoustic datasets for understanding the bioacoustic behaviors of marine mammals. This capability will provide insights into the potential ecological impacts and influences of anthropogenic ocean sounds. This work focuses on building technologies using a maturity model based on DARPA 6.1 and 6.2 processes, for basic and applied research, respectively., Comment: National Oceanic Partnership Program (NOPP) sponsored by ONR and NFWF: N000141210585

The overarching goals of this work are to advance the state of the art for detection, classification, and localization (DCL) in the field of bioacoustics. This goal is primarily achieved by building a generic framework for detection-classification (DC) using a fast, efficient, and scalable architecture, demonstrating the capabilities of the system using a variety of low-frequency and mid-frequency cetacean sounds. Two primary goals are to develop transferable technologies for detection and classification in the area of advanced algorithms, such as deep learning and other methods; and in advanced systems, capable of real-time and archival processing. Currently, massive amounts of acoustic data are being collected by various institutions, corporations, and national defense agencies. The long-term goal is to provide technical capability to analyze the data using automatic algorithms for DC based on machine intelligence. The goal of the automation is to provide effective and efficient mechanisms by which to process large acoustic datasets for understanding the bioacoustic behaviors of marine mammals. This capability will provide insights into the potential ecological impacts and influences of anthropogenic ocean sounds. From Oct 2012 through Sep 2013, our research focused on five major initiatives: (1) International workshops, conferences, and data challenges; (2) Enhancements of the Acoustic Segmentation Recognition (ASR) algorithm for frequency-modulated sounds: Right Whale Study; (3) Enhancements of the ASR algorithm for pulse trains: Minke Whale Study; (4) Mining Big Data Sound Archives using High Performance Computing software and hardware; and (5) Large Pulse Train Study: Minke Vocal Activity East Coast United States.

In 2007 and 2008, controlled exposure experiments were performed in the Bahamas to study behavioral responses to simulated mid-frequency active sonar (MFA) by three groups of odontocetes: false killer whales, Pseudorca crassidens; short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus; and melon-headed whales, Peponocephala electra. An individual in each group was tagged with a Dtag to record acoustic and movement data. During exposures, some individuals produced whistles that seemed similar to the experimental MFA stimulus. Statistical tests were thus applied to investigate whistle-MFA similarity and the relationship between whistle production rate and MFA reception time. For the false killer whale group, overall whistle rate and production rate of the most MFA-like whistles decreased with time since last MFA reception. Despite quite low whistle rates overall by the melon-headed whales, statistical results indicated minor transient silencing after each signal reception. There were no apparent relationships between pilot whale whistle rates and MFA sounds within the exposure period. This variability of responses suggests that changes in whistle production in response to acoustic stimuli depend not only on species and sound source, but also on the social, behavioral, or environmental contexts of exposure.

In 2007 and 2008, controlled exposure experiments were performed in the Bahamas to study behavioral responses to simulated mid-frequency active sonar (MFA) by three groups of odontocetes: false killer whales, Pseudorca crassidens; short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus; and melon-headed whales, Peponocephala electra. An individual in each group was tagged with a Dtag to record acoustic and movement data. During exposures, some individuals produced whistles that seemed similar to the experimental MFA stimulus. Statistical tests were thus applied to investigate whistle-MFA similarity and the relationship between whistle production rate and MFA reception time. For the false killer whale group, overall whistle rate and production rate of the most MFA-like whistles decreased with time since last MFA reception. Despite quite low whistle rates overall by the melon-headed whales, statistical results indicated minor transient silencing after each signal reception. There were no apparent relationships between pilot whale whistle rates and MFA sounds within the exposure period. This variability of responses suggests that changes in whistle production in response to acoustic stimuli depend not only on species and sound source, but also on the social, behavioral, or environmental contexts of exposure.

In 2007 and 2008, controlled exposure experiments were performed in the Bahamas to study behavioral responses to simulated mid-frequency active sonar (MFA) by three groups of odontocetes: false killer whales, Pseudorca crassidens; short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus; and melon-headed whales, Peponocephala electra. An individual in each group was tagged with a Dtag to record acoustic and movement data. During exposures, some individuals produced whistles that seemed similar to the experimental MFA stimulus. Statistical tests were thus applied to investigate whistle-MFA similarity and the relationship between whistle production rate and MFA reception time. For the false killer whale group, overall whistle rate and production rate of the most MFA-like whistles decreased with time since last MFA reception. Despite quite low whistle rates overall by the melon-headed whales, statistical results indicated minor transient silencing after each signal reception. There were no apparent relationships between pilot whale whistle rates and MFA sounds within the exposure period. This variability of responses suggests that changes in whistle production in response to acoustic stimuli depend not only on species and sound source, but also on the social, behavioral, or environmental contexts of exposure.

The following work outlines an approach for automatic detection and recognition of periodic pulse train signals using a multi-stage process based on spectrogram edge detection, energy projection and classification. The method has been implemented to automatically detect and recognize pulse train songs of minke whales. While the long term goal of this work is to properly identify and detect minke songs from large multi-year datasets, this effort was developed using sounds off the coast of Massachusetts, in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. The detection methodology is presented and evaluated on 232 continuous hours of acoustic recordings and a qualitative analysis of machine learning classifiers and their performance is described. The trained automatic detection and classification system is applied to 120 continuous hours, comprised of various challenges such as broadband and narrowband noises, low SNR, and other pulse train signatures. This automatic system achieves a TPR of 63% for FPR of 0.6% (or 0.87 FP/h), at a Precision (PPV) of 84% and an F1 score of 71%., Comment: ICML 2013 Workshop on Machine Learning for Bioacoustics, 2013, 6 pages

We aim to investigate advancing the state of the art of detection, classification and localization (DCL) in the field of bioacoustics. The two primary goals are to develop transferable technologies for detection and classification in: (1) the area of advanced algorithms, such as deep learning and other methods; and (2) advanced systems, capable of real-time and archival and processing. This project will focus on long-term, continuous datasets to provide automatic recognition, minimizing human time to annotate the signals. Effort will begin by focusing on several years of multi-channel acoustic data collected in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) between 2006 and 2010. Our efforts will incorporate existing technologies in the bioacoustics signal processing community, advanced high performance computing (HPC) systems, and new approaches aimed at automatically detecting-classifying and measuring features for species-specific marine mammal sounds within passive acoustic data., The original document contains color images.

We aim to investigate advancing the state of the art of detection, classification and localization (DCL) in the field of bioacoustics. The two primary goals are to develop transferable technologies for detection and classification in: (1) the area of advanced algorithms, such as deep learning and other methods; and (2) advanced systems, capable of real-time and archival and processing. This project will focus on long-term, continuous datasets to provide automatic recognition, minimizing human time to annotate the signals. Effort will begin by focusing on several years of multi-channel acoustic data collected in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) between 2006 and 2010. Our efforts will incorporate existing technologies in the bioacoustics signal processing community, advanced high performance computing (HPC) systems, and new approaches aimed at automatically detecting-classifying and measuring features for species-specific marine mammal sounds within passive acoustic data., Prepared in collaboration with the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

The effects of chronic exposure to increasing levels of human-induced underwater noise on marine animal populations reliant on sound for communication are poorly understood. We sought to further develop methods of quantifying the effects of communication masking associated with human-induced sound on contact-calling North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in an ecologically relevant area (∼10,000 km2) and time period (peak feeding time). We used an array of temporary, bottom-mounted, autonomous acoustic recorders in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary to monitor ambient noise levels, measure levels of sound associated with vessels, and detect and locate calling whales. We related wind speed, as recorded by regional oceanographic buoys, to ambient noise levels. We used vessel-tracking data from the Automatic Identification System to quantify acoustic signatures of large commercial vessels. On the basis of these integrated sound fields, median signal excess (the difference between the signal-to-noise ratio and the assumed recognition differential) for contact-calling right whales was negative (−1 dB) under current ambient noise levels and was further reduced (−2 dB) by the addition of noise from ships. Compared with potential communication space available under historically lower noise conditions, calling right whales may have lost, on average, 63?67% of their communication space. One or more of the 89 calling whales in the study area was exposed to noise levels ≥120 dB re 1 μPa by ships for 20% of the month, and a maximum of 11 whales were exposed to noise at or above this level during a single 10-min period. These results highlight the limitations of exposure-threshold (i.e., dose-response) metrics for assessing chronic anthropogenic noise effects on communication opportunities. Our methods can be used to integrate chronic and wide-ranging noise effects in emerging ocean-planning forums that seek to improve management, Pub. in Conservation Biology, p1-12, 14 AUG 2012,Government or Federal Purpose Rights License. The original document contains color images.

The project goals were to map the low-frequency (less than 1000 Hz) ocean noise budget throughout the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) ecosystem, identify and quantify the contributing sources of anthropogenic sounds within that ecosystem, and determine whether or not such noises have the potential to impact endangered marine mammals and fishes that use the Sanctuary. This project represented a high-level, integrative 'bench mark' study aimed at characterizing the marine acoustic environment and the health of an urbanized, productive ecosystem, SBNMS. The primary products were a suite of tools designed to be transferable to other ecological regions and an extensive database specific to the project. These included both mechanisms for data collection and analysis as well as a conceptual framework for integrating and interpreting the scientific results.

Beaked whales have mass stranded during some naval sonar exercises, but the cause is unknown. They are difficult to sight but can reliably be detected by listening for echolocation clicks produced during deep foraging dives. Listening for these clicks, we documented Blainville's beaked whales, Mesoplodon densirostris, in a naval underwater range where sonars are in regular use near Andros Island, Bahamas. An array of bottom-mounted hydrophones can detect beaked whales when they click anywhere within the range. We used two complementary methods to investigate behavioral responses of beaked whales to sonar: an opportunistic approach that monitored whale responses to multi-day naval exercises involving tactical mid-frequency sonars, and an experimental approach using playbacks of simulated sonar and control sounds to whales tagged with a device that records sound, movement, and orientation. Here we show that in both exposure conditions beaked whales stopped echolocating during deep foraging dives and moved away. During actual sonar exercises, beaked whales were primarily detected near the periphery of the range, on average 16 km away from the sonar transmissions. Once the exercise stopped, beaked whales gradually filled in the center of the range over 2-3 days. A satellite tagged whale moved outside the range during an exercise, returning over 2-3 days post-exercise. The experimental approach used tags to measure acoustic exposure and behavioral reactions of beaked whales to one controlled exposure each of simulated military sonar, killer whale calls, and band-limited noise. The beaked whales reacted to these three sound playbacks at sound pressure levels below 142 dB re 1 mPa by stopping echolocation followed by unusually long and slow ascents from their foraging dives., Published in PLoS ONE, v6 n3, 14 Mar 2011. The original document contains color images. Sponsored in part by ONR (N00014-08-1-0990), Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SI-1539), the Navy's Environmental Readiness Division, the Chief of Naval Operations Submarine Warfare Division (Undersea Surveillance), the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA's Ocean Acoustics Program, and the Joint Industry Program on Sand and Marine Life of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Public Domain declaration. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 6 (2011): e17009, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017009., Beaked whales have mass stranded during some naval sonar exercises, but the cause is unknown. They are difficult to sight but can reliably be detected by listening for echolocation clicks produced during deep foraging dives. Listening for these clicks, we documented Blainville's beaked whales, Mesoplodon densirostris, in a naval underwater range where sonars are in regular use near Andros Island, Bahamas. An array of bottom-mounted hydrophones can detect beaked whales when they click anywhere within the range. We used two complementary methods to investigate behavioral responses of beaked whales to sonar: an opportunistic approach that monitored whale responses to multi-day naval exercises involving tactical mid-frequency sonars, and an experimental approach using playbacks of simulated sonar and control sounds to whales tagged with a device that records sound, movement, and orientation. Here we show that in both exposure conditions beaked whales stopped echolocating during deep foraging dives and moved away. During actual sonar exercises, beaked whales were primarily detected near the periphery of the range, on average 16 km away from the sonar transmissions. Once the exercise stopped, beaked whales gradually filled in the center of the range over 2–3 days. A satellite tagged whale moved outside the range during an exercise, returning over 2–3 days post-exercise. The experimental approach used tags to measure acoustic exposure and behavioral reactions of beaked whales to one controlled exposure each of simulated military sonar, killer whale calls, and band-limited noise. The beaked whales reacted to these three sound playbacks at sound pressure levels below 142 dB re 1 µPa by stopping echolocation followed by unusually long and slow ascents from their foraging dives. The combined results indicate similar disruption of foraging behavior and avoidance by beaked whales in the two different contexts, at exposures well below those used by regulators to define disturbanc, The research reported here was financially supported by the United States (U.S.) Office of Naval Research (www.onr.navy.mil) Grants N00014-07-10988, N00014-07-11023, N00014-08-10990; the U.S. Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (www.serdp.org) Grant SI-1539, the Environmental Readiness Division of the U.S. Navy (http://www.navy.mil/local/n45/), the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Submarine Warfare Division (Undersea Surveillance), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Science and Technology) (http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/), U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Acoustics Program (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/acoustics/), and the Joint Industry Program on Sound and Marine Life of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (www.soundandmarinelife.org).

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Public Domain declaration. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 6 (2011): e17009, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017009., Beaked whales have mass stranded during some naval sonar exercises, but the cause is unknown. They are difficult to sight but can reliably be detected by listening for echolocation clicks produced during deep foraging dives. Listening for these clicks, we documented Blainville's beaked whales, Mesoplodon densirostris, in a naval underwater range where sonars are in regular use near Andros Island, Bahamas. An array of bottom-mounted hydrophones can detect beaked whales when they click anywhere within the range. We used two complementary methods to investigate behavioral responses of beaked whales to sonar: an opportunistic approach that monitored whale responses to multi-day naval exercises involving tactical mid-frequency sonars, and an experimental approach using playbacks of simulated sonar and control sounds to whales tagged with a device that records sound, movement, and orientation. Here we show that in both exposure conditions beaked whales stopped echolocating during deep foraging dives and moved away. During actual sonar exercises, beaked whales were primarily detected near the periphery of the range, on average 16 km away from the sonar transmissions. Once the exercise stopped, beaked whales gradually filled in the center of the range over 2–3 days. A satellite tagged whale moved outside the range during an exercise, returning over 2–3 days post-exercise. The experimental approach used tags to measure acoustic exposure and behavioral reactions of beaked whales to one controlled exposure each of simulated military sonar, killer whale calls, and band-limited noise. The beaked whales reacted to these three sound playbacks at sound pressure levels below 142 dB re 1 µPa by stopping echolocation followed by unusually long and slow ascents from their foraging dives. The combined results indicate similar disruption of foraging behavior and avoidance by beaked whales in the two different contexts, at exposures well below those used by regulators to define disturbanc, The research reported here was financially supported by the United States (U.S.) Office of Naval Research (www.onr.navy.mil) Grants N00014-07-10988, N00014-07-11023, N00014-08-10990; the U.S. Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (www.serdp.org) Grant SI-1539, the Environmental Readiness Division of the U.S. Navy (http://www.navy.mil/local/n45/), the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Submarine Warfare Division (Undersea Surveillance), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Science and Technology) (http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/), U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Acoustics Program (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/acoustics/), and the Joint Industry Program on Sound and Marine Life of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (www.soundandmarinelife.org).

This project represented a high-level, integrative 'bench mark' study aimed at characterizing the marine acoustic environment and the health of an urbanized, productive ecosystem, SBNMS. The primary products were a suite of tools designed to be transferable to other ecological regions and an extensive database specific to the project. These included both mechanisms for data collection and analysis as well as a conceptual framework for integrating and interpreting the scientific results.

El primer objetivo del trabajo tiene como fin describir el patrón de presencia estacional del rorcual común en las diferentes áreas de estudio a lo largo de la región occidental del mar Mediterráneo. La determinación de los meses de mayor y menor presencia de las ballenas en cada área de estudio permite contrastar si existe un patrón de presencia estacional en la región occidental del mar Mediterráneo. El segundo objetivo del trabajo tiene como fin confirmar y describir la presencia de un patrón migratorio estacional en la población del rorcual común en el Mediterráneo occidental. La comparación de los diferentes patrones de presencia estacional a lo largo de la región Mediterránea de la Península Ibérica permite contrastar si la población de rorcual común del mar Mediterráneo se desplaza hacia el norte en primavera y hacia el sur en otoño o si por el contrario no presenta un patrón migratorio estacional definido.

El primer objetivo del trabajo tiene como fin describir el patrón de presencia estacional del rorcual común en las diferentes áreas de estudio a lo largo de la región occidental del mar Mediterráneo. La determinación de los meses de mayor y menor presencia de las ballenas en cada área de estudio permite contrastar si existe un patrón de presencia estacional en la región occidental del mar Mediterráneo. El segundo objetivo del trabajo tiene como fin confirmar y describir la presencia de un patrón migratorio estacional en la población del rorcual común en el Mediterráneo occidental. La comparación de los diferentes patrones de presencia estacional a lo largo de la región Mediterránea de la Península Ibérica permite contrastar si la población de rorcual común del mar Mediterráneo se desplaza hacia el norte en primavera y hacia el sur en otoño o si por el contrario no presenta un patrón migratorio estacional definido.

DoD lands are critically important to migratory bird species as breeding sites, wintering sites, and as migratory stopover sites. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires that US military installations monitor the status of federally listed threatened and endangered species (TES) on their grounds. The standard approach to monitoring populations of breeding songbirds relies on point counts in which a skilled observer notes the species, and in some cases the numbers, of all birds heard or seen at a sampling point during a short (typically 3 ? 10 minute) count interval. Often the majority of individual bird detections in point counts are acoustic; many of the birds noted during a typical count are never seen. In suburban landscapes, closed-canopy deciduous habitats, and tropical forested habitats, acoustic detections can comprise 70 ? 94% of all detections (Alldredge et al. 2006, and references therein). In monitoring some groups such as nocturnal birds (notably owls and nightjars) and some secretive marsh birds, virtually all detections are acoustic. In some of these species, monitoring efforts are further hampered by the birds? infrequent and unpredictable vocal activity, which may require impractically long observer times at each point in order to have reasonable confidence about the absence of a species at the site. Because acoustic detection plays such a prominent role in avian population monitoring, the use of automated acoustical recording instruments and signal detection and classification software has the potential to lead to improved monitoring of bird populations on DoD lands and elsewhere. Specifically, such techniques may enable more extensive sampling, improved estimates of the birds counted and missed, and improved estimates of the area surveyed.

The project goals are to map the low-frequency (<1000 Hz) ocean noise budget throughout the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) ecosystem, identify and quantify the contributing sources of anthropogenic sounds within that ecosystem, and determine whether or not such noises have the potential to impact endangered marine mammals and fishes that use the Sanctuary., Prepared in cooperation with Marine Acoustics, Inc., Middletown, RI; Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA National Ocean Service, Scituate, MA; and Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, Woods Hole, MA.

This project developed acoustical systems for monitoring of wildlife sounds over large areas where access is limited. These systems were tested at Fort Hood, Texas, where Golden-cheeked Warblers and Black-capped Vireos are managed intensively. A balloon system was designed to carry digital audio recorders across inaccessible areas. Horn-loaded microphones were developed to provide lightweight acoustical sensors that were highly sensitive to bird songs and deemphasized low-frequency noise from military training activity. The balloon control system included GPS track logging, altitude control, and bidirectional wireless communications., The original document contains color images. SERDP(Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program), SERDP Collection.

El primer objetivo del trabajo tiene como fin describir el patrón de presencia estacional del rorcual común en las diferentes áreas de estudio a lo largo de la región occidental del mar Mediterráneo. La determinación de los meses de mayor y menor presencia de las ballenas en cada área de estudio permite contrastar si existe un patrón de presencia estacional en la región occidental del mar Mediterráneo. El segundo objetivo del trabajo tiene como fin confirmar y describir la presencia de un patrón migratorio estacional en la población del rorcual común en el Mediterráneo occidental. La comparación de los diferentes patrones de presencia estacional a lo largo de la región Mediterránea de la Península Ibérica permite contrastar si la población de rorcual común del mar Mediterráneo se desplaza hacia el norte en primavera y hacia el sur en otoño o si por el contrario no presenta un patrón migratorio estacional definido.

El primer objetivo del trabajo tiene como fin describir el patrón de presencia estacional del rorcual común en las diferentes áreas de estudio a lo largo de la región occidental del mar Mediterráneo. La determinación de los meses de mayor y menor presencia de las ballenas en cada área de estudio permite contrastar si existe un patrón de presencia estacional en la región occidental del mar Mediterráneo. El segundo objetivo del trabajo tiene como fin confirmar y describir la presencia de un patrón migratorio estacional en la población del rorcual común en el Mediterráneo occidental. La comparación de los diferentes patrones de presencia estacional a lo largo de la región Mediterránea de la Península Ibérica permite contrastar si la población de rorcual común del mar Mediterráneo se desplaza hacia el norte en primavera y hacia el sur en otoño o si por el contrario no presenta un patrón migratorio estacional definido.

The project goals are to map the low-frequency (<1000 Hz) ocean noise budget throughout the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) ecosystem, identify and quantify the contributing sources of anthropogenic sounds within that ecosystem, and determine whether or not such noises have the potential to impact endangered marine mammals and fishes that use the Sanctuary. This project represents a high-level, integrative 'bench mark' study aimed at characterizing the marine acoustic environment and the health of an urbanized, productive ecosystem, SBNMS. The primary products will be a suite of tools designed to be transferable to other ecological regions and an extensive database specific to the project. These will include both mechanisms for data collection and analysis as well as a conceptual framework for integrating and interpret the scientific results.

Integrated field research was conducted on the potential impact of man-made underwater sound on marine mammals and the functions of the low-frequency sounds of whales. This was accomplished using passive acoustics, active acoustics, tagging, vessel survey, biopsy sampling, and photo-ID. Relationships were determined between low-frequency vocal rates of individual fin (Balaenoptera physalus) whales; the identity and sex of singers; and the presence, number and distribution of animals. All singers (n = 9) were males. There were correlations between number of whales seen, level of vocal activity and number of singers. There were associations between where and when males sang, food distribution and feeding activity. Contrary to previous assumptions singers concentrated near high densities of food and sang more during periods of high feeding activity. Resultant data are important for estimating relative abundance based on passive acoustic monitoring systems and for models (e.g., AIM) used to predict acoustic impact for mitigation purposes. By placing the biologically important behavior of acoustic communication within the appropriate ecological context, hypotheses on communication functions (e.g., whale sounds are detected throughout the oceans on (USS) can be tested. This should result in a more rigorous understanding on the potential impact of human-produced LFS on large whales., Prepared in cooperation with Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz.

This was part of the first major project addressing the potential impact of an operational DoD LFS source on free-ranging marine mammals. Based on available prior research, the expectation was that we would detect obvious and statistically significant responses at received levels of around 120dB re 1 micronPa, and that such changes would be manifested across multiple measures. This was not entirely the case. Although our measures were sensitive enough to detect subtle changes indicating that animals detected the sound, animals were tolerant of received levels between 120-130dB. Most tests for statistical significance were negative. The few statistically significant behavioral responses were subtle, short-term and small-scale. All responses were small relative to natural variation, leading to the interpretation that ATOC LFS has a negligible impact on marine mammals., Prepared in cooperation with Cornell Univ., Lab. of Ornithology, Ithaca. NY.

Acoustic data from a horizontal line array deployed from the R/V Cory Chouest were analyzed for marine mammal sounds in order to assess the accuracy of Navy personnel in detecting and identifying whale vocalizations, and to determine whether there was any evidence of potential impact on whales from SURTASS LFA transmissions. Results were based on an analysis of 386 hours from the LFA-15 exercise, February and March 1996. Detection and identification of blue whale signals was poor in both months, while good for fin whales. Errors had little or no impact on compliance because most of the whale calls that were missed were probably from distant animals. Whale acoustic detections were converted into probability of detection statistics with appropriate confidence intervals, and detection probabilities were compared between the LFA-on and LFA-off conditions. The data provide some evidence that whales are less likely to call when the SURTASS-LFA is transmitting. However, the data for this set of circumstances are too sparse to make an accurate assessment of impact. In order to accurately assess the effects of SURTASS-LFA transmissions on whale call probability, transmissions need to be turned off on a more regular basis for periods of 1 hour or longer.

A three-phased research program was completed to study the effects of SURTASS-LFA sounds on three different species of mysticetes under three different biologically critical contexts. A suite of data collection protocols and techniques were combined to document evidence of response from whales over time scales from a few minutes up to one month, and over distances of approximately 1 to tens of kilometers. Playback experiments were designed to expose whales to received levels of < 155 dB re 1 micro-Pa, but it proved difficult to expose animals to levels > 150 dB, and few were exposed to levels > 140 dB. A whale's reactions to the LFA sound varied depending on RL, social context and proximity to the coast. Some whales did respond at levels between 110-150 dB range, but all of the observed responses lasted less than an hour and occurred over ranges of less than several kilometers. None of the observed reactions were considered biologically significant even for received levels as high as 150 dB. These results are surprising. They require critical rethinking of existing assumptions about sound exposure impacts on individuals and populations, and a re-evaluation of existing regulations regarding permissible levels of underwater sound exposure.

The objective of this research was to describe seasonal variations in acoustic signals, distributions, and movements for blue, finback, and minke whales in the north Atlantic using data from LANTIUSS facilities. Data on seasonal occurrence of humpback whales were also analyzed. Such data provides an essential baseline for assessing impacts of man-made low-frequency sound (LFS) on whales, and for evaluating Navy compliance with marine mammal protection regulations.