Measuring The Behavior of Beaked Whales and Their Responses to Sound Using a Digital Recording Tag

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0427577JohnsonThis award to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts provides support for the an integrated effort to investigate environmental factors and behavior important to the life cycle of beaked whales, especially Ziphius cavirostris and Mesoplodon sp., species that have shown indications of special sensitivity to anthropogenic sound. Research techniques will include field efforts to record vocalizations together with environmental parameters, and thus provide direct information on depth and manner of feeding, physiological parameters such as heart rate and vocalization, and behavior when diving and at surface. In the second year, the field effort will include controlled exposure experiments, using sonars to address responsiveness of the animals to sound in different frequency ranges and amplitudes. It is anticipated that these data will lead to a better understanding of possible causes of mass strandings of beaked whales that have been associated with anthropogenic sound, especially military sonars, in the vicinity of oceanic islands.***