OPP-PRF: Using Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Bowhead Whales to Identify Biotic and Abiotic Drivers and Timing of Migration

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Bowhead whales migrate through the Bering Strait every spring to feed on zooplankton growing in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas; they are vital to the marine ecosystem and to Alaska Native communities. As the Arctic warms, some whales may be changing their migration patterns to spend winter on their summer feeding grounds. Changes to migration could impact breeding and increase competition, killer whale attacks, and ship-strike risk. Bowhead whale vocalizations provide an opportunity to use passive acoustic monitoring to study their movement. This project combines data on bowhead whale calls with environmental and prey data to track movement and predict ship-strike risk. The findings will improve management of this ecologically, biologically, and culturally important species and help researchers understand climate change impacts on whale behavior. Research results will be presented in Alaska and to Arctic researchers. Activities planned for undergraduate, public, and K-12 audiences will provide opportunities to engage participants in marine mammal science and bioacoustics.This research addresses the impacts of climate change on bowhead migration, the drivers of migration, and the potential for ship strikes in Bering Strait and the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Long-term passive acoustic data from three mooring locations combined with modeled environmental and prey data are used to examine the drivers of bowhead migration. This research will quantify whale presence during seasonal periods when whales are historically not expected to be present in the area. Results will indicate whether bowhead whales are changing their migratory patterns, which could impact Indigenous communities. Whale presence will be analyzed relative to vessel traffic, which will provide insight on ship-strike risk and effects of ship noise on bowheads.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.