Listening to marine mammals at basin to local scales.

Abstract

The successful use of SOSUS to track broad‐scale occurrence patterns in whale calls during the second half of the 20th century fostered the development of autonomous recorders that can be deployed virtually anywhere in the world ocean. Over the past decade, data from these recorders have provided dramatic insights to marine mammal ecology. Patterns of call reception have demonstrated the near year‐round occurrence of some baleen whale species in Arctic and Antarctic waters, a discovery that challenges long‐held assumptions about the phenology of seasonal migrations. Integration of year‐long calling records with physical oceanographic measures at mooring‐based ocean observatories provides a means to include large whales in ecosystem‐based models. The reception of anthropogenic sounds on nearly all recorders, whether deployed in coastal or remote areas, emphasizes the need to develop regional “soundscapes” based upon integrative sampling and analytical protocols. Examples from several long‐term research programs will be provided as the basis for the strong assertion that passive acoustic observation of marine mammals is a vital component of any ocean observing system. Opportunities for future collaborations and the challenges of data management and access will be discussed.