Tag Archives: Beaked Whales

BLAINVILLE’S BEAKED WHALES’ FEEDING GROUND ON ABACO / BMMRO MAY 2012 REPORT

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BMMRO MAY 2012 REPORT / THE BEAKED WHALES’ FEEDING GROUND

The BMMRO report for May 2012 has just been published. It’s quite short so I am posting it ‘as is’. While I am about it, Charlotte Dunn has just emailed me about an aerial shot we took on a flight from MH to Nassau of the southern stretch of Abaco coast between Hole-in-the-Wall and Rocky Point. She writes “that stretch of dark water is the North West Providence channel and where we often see our infamous beaked whales. They dive down to get their food, diving to 2000m in some cases!” In the top photo, the plane is roughly over Hole-in-the-Wall. Sandy Point Airport is just visible (top centre). The second close-up photo clearly shows how the shallow coastal water quickly gives way to the deeper water of the channel.

BMMRO Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation Banner
BMMRO NEWS MAY 2012
May fieldworkProject: Monitoring beaked whale responses to sonar tests at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre (AUTEC)
A collaborative effort to deploy satellite tags on odontocete cetaceans on and around the US Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) in the northern Bahamas took place for the seventh time during April – May 2012. This project aims to monitor the movements of beaked whales and other odontocetes in relation to active sonar exercises, and particularly tests around multi-ship sonar exercises, on the AUTEC weapons range. This is a collaboration between the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation, the Protected Resources Division of the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center (http://swfsc.noaa.gov/prd.aspx) and the US Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC, http://www.nuwc.navy.mil/), with funding provided by the Chief of Naval Operations Energy and Environmental Readiness Division – N45. Secondary objectives include obtaining photo-identification data and biopsy samples.Below a picture is showing a satellite LIMPET tag being deployed on a Blainville’s beaked whale at AUTEC. These small low-profile tags are attached using a crossbow to deploy the tag on a projectile bolt; on contact with whale this bolt falls away (as shown), leaving only the transmitter tag attached to the animal. Two of these tags were deployed in early May 2012, transmitting dive depth data and location signals for 18 and 28 days.

tag placement on Blainville's beaked whale

The field team worked in co-ordination with NUWC’s Marine Mammal Monitoring on Navy Ranges (M3R) team based at Site 1, AUTEC. M3R vectored the vessel to acoustic detections of cetaceans on the range.

Sightings were made of 3 species: Blainville’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris), sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), and melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra). There were 7 satellite tag deployments, 4 on sperm whales, 1 on a melon-headed whale and 2 on beaked whales. Both of the tags deployed on the beaked whales have provided movement and depth data prior to, during and after the multi-ship sonar exercise at AUTEC.

To read more about this project, go to the NOAA website to see their report.
Project: Assessing beaked whale reproduciton and stress response relative to sonar activity at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre (AUTEC)
Fieldwork took place in south Abaco with the field team based at BMMRO’s research centre in Sandy Point. The effort lasted two weeks and 22 biopsy samples were collected from 23 of the Blainville’s beaked whales sighted during the period, the 23rd animal was a calf and too small to biopsy.

These samples will be used to look at reproductive and stress hormone levels, and will be compared to samples taken from whales residing on the AUTEC range in Andros, during a project scheduled to take place in July this year. This project is funded with a research grant from the Office of Naval Research.

SOUNDS UNDER THE SURFACE: NOISE EFFECTS ON WHALES

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The NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) has produced a short video with the conclusions from recent research into the effects of extraneous (i.e. non-natural) noise on the habits of whales. The cooperative project involved a number of organisations including the BMMRO and Florida State University and lasted two years.

The study concentrated on beaked whales, pilot whales, and melon headed whales. Using readings from tagged whales, the scientists created animations showing the whales behavior before, during, and after being exposed to low levels of a variety of sounds; including sonar. The results showed that beaked whales, known for diving to extreme depths, were much more sensitive to sonar than other species.  Even low levels of these sounds disrupted their diving, vocal, and likely feeding behaviors.

The complete report including a VIDEO and a transcript can be found by clicking LINK==> Sounds Under the Surface | Science and Technology | Ocean Today   (I haven’t been able to embed the Video, so you’ll get the whole page)