Cuviers Beaked Whales at Guadalupe Island, Mexico: A Comprehensive Assessment of Demographics and Behavior in an Undisturbed Area
Abstract
With a demonstrated unprecedented encounter rate for Cuviers beaked whales (hereafter Zc), Guadalupe Island provides a unique opportunity to collect sizeable samples of life-history data from this species within a timeframe, and at a level of fidelity, unseen at other established study sites. This proposal aims to build upon existing and ongoing studies (through spring of 2021) of photo-ID and demographics of Zc at Guadalupe Island by adding advanced photoprocessing techniques to images already gathered and images gathered going forward, adding aerial photogrammetry using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), and conducting year-round acoustic monitoring through deployments of a High-frequency Acoustic Recording Package (HARP). Starting in the fall of 2021 through the spring of 2024, we propose to continue data collection efforts using photo-ID, UAS based photogrammetry, LIMPET satellite tagging, and acoustic recordings, providing a 6.5-year time-series of comprehensive data collection at this site. Data collected with this project will be compared to ongoing studies of Zc at the nearby US Navy training range in the Southern California Bight, and population demographic information will also be compared to a Cuviers beaked whale population being studied in the Azores Islands. The combination of these techniques provides a comprehensive approach to build a dataset of behavior and demographics of Zc from an area of limited to no naval mid-frequency active sonar, a key data input for Population Consequences of Disturbance models which are being implemented at a nearby US Navy training range.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 11, 2020
- Source ID
- N000142012755
Entities
People
- Gregory S Schorr
Organizations
- Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy