Cetacean social behavioral response to sonar
Abstract
ABSTRACT Cetacean social behavioral response to sonar exposure: biological relevance and severity of sonar responses (BAA 14-001, Kelp Marine Research) The uncertainty about cause-effect of cetacean strandings, population level impacts of behavioral changes and potentially critical levels of exposure make it difficult to provide a full scientific basis for Navy mitigation measures. It has become apparent from Behavioral Response Studies (BRSs), linking behavioral responses to specific exposure levels, that these behavioral changes can be highly species- and context specific. For social cetaceans, a major determinant of context is their sociality. The strong within- and between-species variability in response has resulted in great challenges to interpret the biological relevance and severity of sonar exposure for cetaceans. The proposed research aims to fill this data gap and provide a better scientific basis for monitoring and mitigation policies by 1) cross-species comparison of social responses to sonar exposure, 2) investigation of the sonar response within the context of the social response repertoire to a range of stimuli (e.g. tagging, killer whale sounds playbacks) and 3) investigation of the mediating role of sociality in functional behaviors and behavioral response. The research effort proposed here will involve, and benefit from, continued joint and coordinated effort in fieldwork and analysis within and between 3S, SOCAL and Azores- Baseline BRS projects, further augmenting the pooling of data between projects and allowing for cross-species and cross-area comparisons of behavior and response, and an integrated approach between the partners of the research consortia. In addition, the cooperative efforts allow for cost-effective fieldwork by the ability to join existing trials.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 22, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141512341
Entities
People
- Fleur Visser
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy