Understanding community composition of marine mammals in the northern Indian Oceanusing visual and passive acoustic methods
Abstract
The proposed research would be an investigation, involving the use of visual surveys and passive acoustic monitoring, of the abundance and distribution of marine mammals in the northern Indian Ocean. The variations in distribution and composition of cetaceans would be studied with respect to oceanographic features (e.g., upwelling and plankton blooms) using direct observations and remote sensing of the ocean environment; and the seasonal variation of composition and the acoustic behavior of endemic cetacean species would be examined. Researchers involved in the project would also strive to develop a network of national/international institutions and agencies that would promote marine mammal research in the northern Indian Ocean and that would support training of students and researchers in the field. Part of the proposed research would support the doctoral dissertation of a graduate student, and students trained through project funds would participate in the data collection ~ e.g., the visual surveys of the marine mammals. The novelty of the proposed research comes from the fact that the northern Indian Ocean is one of the least studied regions of the world with respect to its mammal inhabitants, and this project would be a large step towards understanding the unique mammal composition, distribution and behavior in that ocean region, with initial emphasis off the Indian coast and in the waters of the Lakshadweep Islands. It would also be special in its efforts to build cooperation between institutions and agencies to collectively promote marine-mammal research in the northern Indian Ocean, and it would strengthen the relatively new collaboration between Indian and American researchers in this field in a mutually beneficial way. This ONRG research grant would be an important catalyst to building a long-term relationship between American and Indian researchers in studies of marine mammals in the Indian Ocean.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2019
- Source ID
- N629091912133
Entities
People
- Uma Ramakrishnan
Organizations
- National Centre for Biological Sciences
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy