Assessing Stress Responses in Beaked and Sperm Whales in the Bahamas

Abstract

The long-term goal of this project was to develop fecal hormone assays to assess stress responses in Blainville's beaked whales (mesoplodon densirostris) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) inhabiting the northern Bahamas. These deep-diving species were chosen to investigate a particularly acoustically-sensitive cetacean (beaked whales) and a co-occurring species (sperm whales) for comparison. The physiologic data generated by this project will provide baseline levels of stress and metabolic hormones in free-swimming beaked and sperm whales for comparison with conspecifics experiencing known acoustic disturbances (including mid-frequency active sonar), such as at the nearby U.S. Navy Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC).

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 23, 2016
Accession Number
AD1010888

Entities

People

  • Charlotte A. Dunn
  • Diane D Claridge
  • Elizabeth A. Burgess
  • Katharine M Graham
  • Kathleen E. Hunt
  • Rosalind M. Rolland
  • Scott D. Kraus

Organizations

  • New England Aquarium

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Cetaceans
  • Classification
  • Contracts
  • Data Analysis
  • Hormones
  • Immunoassay
  • Mammals
  • Marine Mammals
  • New England
  • Odontocetes
  • Security
  • Standards
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Thyroid Hormones
  • Whales

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Marine Mammal Biology