Understanding community composition of marine mammals in the northern Indian Ocean using visual and passive acoustic methods
Abstract
The northern Indian Ocean (NIO) is a semi-enclosed ocean basin in the northern hemisphere bound by the Asian and African landmasses. The Indian penisula located centrally divides this region into two distinctive water masses, the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. The region is severely affected by strong winds of two monsoonal cycles (the southwest monsoons and the northeast monsons) causing surface ocean currents to undergo a reversal in direction during these seasons. Significant upwelling seen during the southwest monsoons gives rise to high productivity, especially in areas off southwest India, Oman and Sri Lanka. We hypothesize that these distinct oceangraphic processes influence spatial and temporal variability in regional marine mammal composition. The specific objectives of this proposal are as follows: characterize the distribution and relative abundance of marine mammal species along the Indian west coast (continental shelf to upper continental slope) in the northern Indian Ocean region using passive acoustic and visual monitoring; examine the seasonal community compostion and acoustic behavior of marine mammals in teh Lakshadweep archipelago in the Arabian Sea; determine variations in marine mammal composition with respect to oceanographic features and currents, areas of upwelling and plankton blooms using direct observations and remote sensing data; and build capacity through PhD student support, training programs and workshops in India to bolster local marine mammal expertise and to improve knowledge transfer between American and Indian scientists
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 04, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141812795
Entities
People
- Kathleen M Stafford
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Washington