Caribbean Sea Soundscapes: Monitoring Humpback Whales, Biological Sounds, Geological Events, and Anthropogenic Impacts of Vessel Noise

Heenehan, Heather L.; Stanistreet, Joy E.; Corkeron, Peter J.; Bouveret, Laurent; Chalifour, Julien; Davis, G. E.; Henríquez, Angiolina; Kiszka, Jérémy J.; Kline, Logan R.; Reed, Caroline; Shamir-Reynoso, Omar; Vedie, Fabien; Wolf, Wijnand De; Hoetjes, Paul; Parijs, Sofie M. Van

doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00347

Cited by 26 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…In addition to the expected detections in the Caribbean (Heenehan et al, 2019;Whitehead & Moore, 1982), humpback whales were present from Cape Hatteras (region 9) to eastern Greenland (region 2) throughout the winter. Detections also remained high across these regions through spring and summer.…”

Section: Humpback Whalesmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…During the spring, summer, and fall, humpback whales in the western North Atlantic are found feeding in the Gulf of Maine, Gulf of St. Lawrence, and in waters off Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and western Greenland (Katona & Beard, 1990). In winter months, a portion of the North Atlantic humpback whale population visits breeding grounds in the Caribbean and the Cape Verde Islands, and some individuals have even been identified in both breeding grounds (Heenehan et al., 2019; Stevick et al., 2016; Stevick, ØIen, & Mattila, 1998; Wenzel et al., 2009). Passive acoustic data from the western North Atlantic have revealed that humpback whales are present year‐round in the Gulf of Maine (Murray, Rice, & Clark, 2014; Vu et al., 2012), and in winter months off the Scotian Shelf (Kowarski, Evers, Moors‐Murphy, Martin, & Denes, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring movement patterns and changing distributions of baleen whales in the western North Atlantic using a decade of passive acoustic data

Davis

Baumgartner

Corkeron

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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114

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Section: Humpback Whalesmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring movement patterns and changing distributions of baleen whales in the western North Atlantic using a decade of passive acoustic data

Davis

Baumgartner

Corkeron

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

Self Cite

114

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“…However, ambient sound levels in Virgin Islands were lower and less variable compared to Stellwagen (Figure 4). An illustrative example of this difference is that humpback whale vocalizations are visible in the band sound level plots of Virgin Islands, but not in Stellwagen (Figure 3), although humpback whale vocalizations were detected and known to occur in both areas (Stanistreet et al, 2013;Heenehan et al, 2019). This inconsistency suggests that ambient sound levels, combined with other influencing factors (e.g., distance between conspecifics, number of individuals), are likely a contributing factor in the success or failure in detecting humpback whale vocalizations and other biological sources in a given region and season.…”

Section: Sound Levels Reveal Dominant Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing the Underwater Soundscapes of Four U.S. National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries

et al. 2019

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Passive acoustic sensors provide a cost-effective tool for monitoring marine environments. Documenting acoustic conditions among habitats can provide insights into temporal changes in ecosystem composition and anthropogenic impacts. Agencies tasked with safeguarding marine protected areas, such as the U.S. National Park Service and U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, are increasingly interested in using long-term monitoring of underwater sounds as a means of tracking species diversity and ecosystem health. In this study, low-frequency passive acoustic recordings were collected fall 2014 -spring 2018, using standardized instrumentation, from four marine protected areas across geographically disparate regions of the U.S. Economic Exclusive Zone: Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Pacific, South Pacific, and Caribbean. Recordings were analyzed for differences in seasonal conditions and to identify acoustic metrics useful for resource assessment across all sites. In addition to comparing ambient sound levels, a species common to all four sites, the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), was used to compare biological sound detection. Ambient sound levels varied across the sites and were driven by differences in animal vocalization rates, anthropogenic activity, and weather. The highest sound levels [dB RMS(50 Hz−1.5 kHz) re 1 µPa] were recorded in the Northwest Atlantic in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Stellwagen) during the boreal winter-spring resulting from bioacoustic activity, vessel traffic, and high wind speeds. The lowest sound levels [dB RMS(50 Hz−1.5 kHz) re 1 µPa] were recorded in the Northeast Pacific adjacent to a vessel-restricted area of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (Glacier Bay) during the boreal summer. Humpback whales were detected seasonally in the southern latitude sites, and throughout the deployment periods in the northern latitude sites. Temporal trends in band and spectrum sound levels in Glacier Bay and the National Park of American Samoa were primarily driven by

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“…NPOs and whale-watching companies). These data are highly valuable, often made by experienced observers able to accurately distinguish between species and some of them were used for scientific targeted studies ( Heenehan et al 2019 , Kennedy et al 2014 , Stevick et al 2016 , Stevick et al 2018 ). By their very heterogeneous nature, citizen science data are challenging to analyse ( Van Strien et al 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kakila database: Towards a FAIR community approved database of cetacean presence in the waters of the Guadeloupe Archipelago, based on citizen science

Coché¹,

Arnaud²,

Bouveret³

et al. 2021

BDJ

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In the French West Indies, more than 20 species of cetaceans have been observed over the last decades. The recognition of this hotspot of biodiversity of marine mammals, observed in the French Exclusive Economic Zone of the West Indies, motivated the French government to create in 2010 a marine protected area (MPA) dedicated to the conservation of marine mammals: the Agoa Sanctuary. Threats that cetacean populations face are multiple, but well-documented. Cetacean conservation can only be achieved if relevant and reliable data are available, starting by occurrence data. In the Guadeloupe Archipelago and in addition to some data collected by the Agoa Sanctuary, occurrence data are mainly available through the contribution of citizen science and of local stakeholders (i.e. non-profit organisations (NPO) and whale-watchers). However, no observation network has been coordinated and no standards exist for cetacean presence data collection and management. In recent years, several whale watchers and NPOs regularly collected cetacean observation data around the Guadeloupe Archipelago. Our objective was to gather datasets from three Guadeloupean whale watchers, two NPOs and the Agoa Sanctuary, that agreed to share their data. These heterogeneous data went through a careful process of curation and standardisation in order to create a new extended database, using a newly-designed metadata set. This aggregated dataset contains a total of 4,704 records of 21 species collected in the Guadeloupe Archipelago from 2000 to 2019. The database was called Kakila ("who is there?" in Guadeloupean Creole). The Kakila database was developed following the FAIR principles with the ultimate objective of ensuring sustainability. All these data were transferred into the PNDB repository (Pöle National de Données de Biodiversité, Biodiversity French Data Hub, https://www.pndb.fr). In the Agoa Sanctuary and surrounding waters, marine mammals have to interact with increasing anthropogenic pressure from growing human activities. In this context, the Kakila database fulfils the need for an organised system to structure marine mammal occurrences collected by multiple local stakeholders with a common objective: contribute to the knowledge and conservation of cetaceans living in the French Antilles waters. Much needed data analysis will enable us to identify high cetacean presence areas, to document the presence of rarer species and to determine areas of possible negative interactions with anthropogenic activities.

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Caribbean Sea Soundscapes: Monitoring Humpback Whales, Biological Sounds, Geological Events, and Anthropogenic Impacts of Vessel Noise

Cited by 26 publications

References 63 publications

Exploring movement patterns and changing distributions of baleen whales in the western North Atlantic using a decade of passive acoustic data

Exploring movement patterns and changing distributions of baleen whales in the western North Atlantic using a decade of passive acoustic data

Comparing the Underwater Soundscapes of Four U.S. National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries

Kakila database: Towards a FAIR community approved database of cetacean presence in the waters of the Guadeloupe Archipelago, based on citizen science

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