Quantitative environmental sampling echosounders for ONR-related coastal research
Abstract
The rationale for the submission of a DURIP proposal is to complete the development a field-ready multi-purpose coastal research vessel that will support a number of currently-funded and proposed ONR and other DoD marine mammal research initiatives. From a recent DURIP award this research platform was designed and fabricated. However COVID-19 impacts to supply chains for materials, costs ofmaterials and personnel, and logistics precluded our research platform from being fully outfitted as intended with a full suite of echosounders to compliment existing ecological research on marine mammals and to facilitate increased application and use of the platform in ONR-funded studies. This platform will: diminish logistical constraints including personnel required; maximize budgets; provide field adaptability to favorable weather windows; provide both research and educational training opportunities; and advance overall research capacity within our experienced, interdisciplinary, and multi-institutional collaborative research teams both in scopeand efficiency. DoD funded or planned projects this platform will support include (at least): (1) ongoing behavioral and physiological response study of delphinid species to simulated and actual navy sonar in California utilizing UAS, visual observation, biopsy,and passive acoustics methods; (2) ongoing projects to better quantify ecological interactions between baleen whales and their preyin California using motion-sensing tags and fisheries acoustics; (3) an ongoing project to develop a heart-rate monitor to collect data from baleen whales concurrent with motion-sensors to accurately estimate metabolic costs and other vital rates; (4) a proposed project to develop new longer-term multi-senor tags to be deployed on a variety of pinniped, delphinid, and baleen whale species in California; (4) ongoing and future collaborations with the Naval Postgraduate School and others to evaluate particle vector sensors to localize anthropogenic and biological sound sources; and (5) a proposed project to develop long-duration tags with algorithms to process data and transmit feeding rates of small odontocete cetaceans, and (6) and pending proposal with ONR to better identify and understand mid-pelagic prey fields and how they are accessed by deep-diving cetaceans in Monterey Bay. The common need in these studies is our newly built research platform and a suite of scientific echosounders to quantify prey fields. We are poised to support these efforts and the addition of our intended prey mapping capacity will further the value of this research platform.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 26, 2024
- Source ID
- N000142512012
Entities
People
- Ari S. Friedlaender
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, Santa Cruz