SUMMARYOyster larvae (Crassostrea virginica) could enhance their settlement success by moving toward the seafloor in the strong turbulence associated with coastal habitats. We characterized the behavior of individual oyster larvae in grid-generated turbulence by measuring larval velocities and flow velocities simultaneously using infrared particle image velocimetry. We estimated larval behavioral velocities and propulsive forces as functions of the kinetic energy dissipation rate ε, strain rate γ, vorticity ξ and acceleration α. In calm water most larvae had near-zero vertical velocities despite propelling themselves upward (swimming). In stronger turbulence all larvae used more propulsive force, but relative to the larval axis, larvae propelled themselves downward (diving) instead of upward more frequently and more forcefully. Vertical velocity magnitudes of both swimmers and divers increased with turbulence, but the swimming velocity leveled off as larvae were rotated away from their stable, velum-up orientation in strong turbulence. Diving speeds rose steadily with turbulence intensity to several times the terminal fall velocity in still water. Rapid dives may require a switch from ciliary swimming to another propulsive mode such as flapping the velum, which would become energetically efficient at the intermediate Reynolds numbers attained by larvae in strong turbulence. We expected larvae to respond to spatial or temporal velocity gradients, but although the diving frequency changed abruptly at a threshold acceleration, the variation in propulsive force and behavioral velocity was best explained by the dissipation rate. Downward propulsion could enhance oyster larval settlement by raising the probability of larval contact with oyster reef patches.

No abstract

Eastern North Pacific gray whales make one of the longest annual migrations of any mammal, traveling from their summer feeding areas in the Bering and Chukchi Seas to their wintering areas in the lagoons of Baja California, Mexico. Although a significant body of knowledge on gray whale biology and behavior exists, little is known about their vocal behavior while migrating. In this study, we used a sparse hydrophone array deployed offshore of central California to investigate how gray whales behave and use sound while migrating. We detected, localized, and tracked whales for one full migration season, a first for gray whales. We verified and localized 10,644 gray whale M3 calls and grouped them into 280 tracks. Results confirm that gray whales are acoustically active while migrating and their swimming and acoustic behavior changes on daily and seasonal time scales. The seasonal timing of the calls verifies the gray whale migration timing determined using other methods such as counts conducted by visual observers. The total number of calls and the percentage of calls that were part of a track changed significantly over both seasonal and daily time scales. An average calling rate of 5.7 calls/whale/day was observed, which is significantly greater than previously reported migration calling rates. We measured a mean speed of 1.6 m/s and quantified heading, direction, and water depth where tracks were located. Mean speed and water depth remained constant between night and day, but these quantities had greater variation at night. Gray whales produce M3 calls with a root mean square source level of 156.9 dB re 1 μPa at 1 m. Quantities describing call characteristics were variable and dependent on site-specific propagation characteristics.

Minke whales were acoustically detected, localized, and tracked on the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility from 2012 to 2017. Animal source levels (SLs) were estimated by adding transmission loss estimates to measured received levels of 42 159 individual minke whale boings. Minke whales off Hawaii exhibited the Lombard effect in that they increased their boing call intensity in increased background noise. Minke whales also decreased the variance of the boing call SL in higher background noise levels. Although the whales partially compensated for increasing background noise, they were unable or unwilling to increase their SLs by the same amount as the background noise. As oceans become louder, this reduction in communication space could negatively impact the health of minke whale populations. The findings in this study also have important implications for acoustic animal density studies, which may use SL to estimate probability of detection.