Cuvier s Beaked Whales at Guadalupe Island, Mexico: A Comprehensive Assessment of Demographics and Behavior in an Undisturbed Area
Abstract
The goal of this project is to continue data collection on Cuvier#s beaked whales at Guadalupe Island, a comparative study site forthe population of Cuvier#s beaked whales within the Southern California Range Complex. With an unprecedented encounter rate for Cuvier#s beaked whales, Guadalupe Island provides a unique opportunity to collect sizeable samples of life history and behavior data inan area with minimal human activity within a timeframe and at a level of fidelity unlike at other established Cuvier#s study sites.This project includes the collection of long-term individual life history data via boat-based photo-identification and aerial photogrammetry, key methods for understanding demographics, population health, and vital rates. Biopsy sample collection will add to the growing number of individuals from the population that have been sampled, allowing for further investigation into population level differences, relatedness, and age/sex verification. We include strategic tag deployments to measure geographic distribution, habitat use, and diving and foraging behavior, all of which can be directly compared to deployments from tag data collected within the Southern California Range Complex. As an option, we propose to continue long-term autonomous passive acoustic monitoring to assess annualabundance and anthropogenic disturbances. The combination of these techniques provides a comprehensive approach to build a dataset of behavior and vital rates of Cuvier#s beaked whales from an area with limited anthropogenic activity, a key data input for Population Consequences of Disturbance models which are being implemented at the nearby US Navy training range.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 08, 2024
- Source ID
- N000142412552
Entities
People
- Gregory S Schorr
Organizations
- Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy