Providing Field Support for the Behavior Response Study (BRS-07)
Abstract
The long-term goals of this project are to contribute towards the development of a science-based sonar use policy for the US Navy which reduces the risk of injury to beaked whales from mid-frequency sonar. This project will also increase our understanding of the population and behavioral ecology of beaked whales and will contribute towards the assessment of impacts of naval activities at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC). OBJECTIVES The over-riding objective of this effort is to provide field support for Phase I of the Behavior Response Study (BRS). Specific objectives are: 1) To work with the Marine Mammal Monitoring (M3R) program at AUTEC to visually locate cetaceans detected acoustically on the AUTEC range, with a particular focus on finding beaked whales (Family Ziphiidae). 2) To photo-identify individual animals within each group found. 3) To attach digital acoustic tags or Dtags to beaked whales and pilot whales to prepare for playback experiments and to gather baseline data on the diving behavior of these species in Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO). 4) To conduct focal follows of the tagged whale before, during and after a playback experiment. 5) To conduct aerial surveys for stranded or injured cetaceans before BRS started, following each playback and after BRS ended, as part of the BRS mitigation. 6) To provide a team from a Bahamian non-governmental organization to allow independent observation of the experiment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA506881
Entities
People
- Diane Claridge
- John Durban