TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-term passive acoustic recordings track the changing distribution of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) from 2004 to 2014
AU - Davis, Genevieve E.
AU - Baumgartner, Mark F.
AU - Bonnell, Julianne M.
AU - Bell, Joel
AU - Berchok, Catherine
AU - Bort Thornton, Jacqueline
AU - Brault, Solange
AU - Buchanan, Gary
AU - Charif, Russell A.
AU - Cholewiak, Danielle
AU - Clark, Christopher W.
AU - Corkeron, Peter
AU - Delarue, Julien
AU - Dudzinski, Kathleen
AU - Hatch, Leila
AU - Hildebrand, John
AU - Hodge, Lynne
AU - Klinck, Holger
AU - Kraus, Scott
AU - Martin, Bruce
AU - Mellinger, David K.
AU - Moors-Murphy, Hilary
AU - Nieukirk, Sharon
AU - Nowacek, Douglas P.
AU - Parks, Susan
AU - Read, Andrew J.
AU - Rice, Aaron N.
AU - Risch, Denise
AU - Širović, Ana
AU - Soldevilla, Melissa
AU - Stafford, Kate
AU - Stanistreet, Joy E.
AU - Summers, Erin
AU - Todd, Sean
AU - Warde, Ann
AU - Van Parijs, Sofie M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Author(s).
PY - 2017/12/1
Y1 - 2017/12/1
N2 - Given new distribution patterns of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis) population in recent years, an improved understanding of spatio-temporal movements are imperative for the conservation of this species. While so far visual data have provided most information on NARW movements, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was used in this study in order to better capture year-round NARW presence. This project used PAM data from 2004 to 2014 collected by 19 organizations throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean. Overall, data from 324 recorders (35,600 days) were processed and analyzed using a classification and detection system. Results highlight almost year-round habitat use of the western North Atlantic Ocean, with a decrease in detections in waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in summer and fall. Data collected post 2010 showed an increased NARW presence in the mid-Atlantic region and a simultaneous decrease in the northern Gulf of Maine. In addition, NARWs were widely distributed across most regions throughout winter months. This study demonstrates that a large-scale analysis of PAM data provides significant value to understanding and tracking shifts in large whale movements over long time scales.
AB - Given new distribution patterns of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis) population in recent years, an improved understanding of spatio-temporal movements are imperative for the conservation of this species. While so far visual data have provided most information on NARW movements, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was used in this study in order to better capture year-round NARW presence. This project used PAM data from 2004 to 2014 collected by 19 organizations throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean. Overall, data from 324 recorders (35,600 days) were processed and analyzed using a classification and detection system. Results highlight almost year-round habitat use of the western North Atlantic Ocean, with a decrease in detections in waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in summer and fall. Data collected post 2010 showed an increased NARW presence in the mid-Atlantic region and a simultaneous decrease in the northern Gulf of Maine. In addition, NARWs were widely distributed across most regions throughout winter months. This study demonstrates that a large-scale analysis of PAM data provides significant value to understanding and tracking shifts in large whale movements over long time scales.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85031905229&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85031905229&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-13359-3
DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-13359-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 29044130
AN - SCOPUS:85031905229
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 7
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
IS - 1
M1 - 13460
ER -