Fine-scale Focal Dtag Behavioral Study of Diel Trends in Activity Budgets and Sound Production of Endangered Baleen Whales in the Gulf of Maine

Abstract

Abstract : The long-term goals of this project was to obtain crucial baseline data on the normal diel activity budgets of endangered baleen whale species including time spent at the surface, residency time and rate of horizontal travel, and rates of sound production. These data can be used to assess both visual and passive acoustic detectability to aid in their detection to protect them from vessel collisions and harmful exposures to man-made sounds. These data also provide information on normal behavior necessary to interpret any potential disturbance responses to human activities. The primary goal of this project was to obtain fine-scale behavior data from two endangered baleen whale species, the humpback whale (Megaptera novaengliae) and the right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary through suction-cup attachment of sound and orientation recording tags (Digital Archival Tag - Dtag), which records subsurface movements and sound production by the whale. The specific objectives of this three year study were to use these tag data to: 1) determine the diel trends in dive profiles and horizontal movement patterns for tagged humpback and right whales on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary; 2) determine the sound production behavior of individual tagged humpback and right whales on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary; and 3) examine the relationship among anthropogenic noise, conspecific sounds, and tagged whale behavior for humpback and right whales on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.