Modifying an Acoustic Zooplankton and Fish Profiler for quantitative spatial sampling of baleen whale prey in British Columbia.

准确识别座头鲸的食物对于预测鲸鱼和渔业之间的时空重叠很重要。然而，从大型船只上对鲸鱼进行调查很困难，对须鲸猎物的采样方法有限，排除了在不列颠哥伦比亚省水域收集关于须鲸食性的可靠数据的可能性。从小船上收集高分辨率猎物数据的能力对这些研究至关重要。然后，可以结合传统的鲸鱼表面观察来调查摄食座头鲸附近的地下猎物。 ASL环境科学(ASL)通过修改ASL声学提供了一种可能的解决方案 浮游动物和鱼类剖面仪(AZFP)。AZFP是为在海底固定系泊而设计的，我们将在舰载、从海面向下看的方向使用AZFP。这需要修改AZFP的外部硬件和开发定制软件。 该项目的目标是(I)修改AZFP，以便在小船上有效使用；和(Ii)评估 AZFP在采集取食毛羽附近的高分辨率猎物数据方面的性能 鲸鱼。

Accurate identification of humpback whale diet is important for predicting the spatiotemporal overlap between whales and fisheries. However, difficulty surveying whales from large ships and limited sampling methods for baleen whale prey have precluded reliable data collection on baleen whale feeding habits in BC waters. An ability to collect high resolution prey data from a small vessel is essential for these studies. Subsurface prey near feeding humpback whales can then be surveyed in conjunction with traditional whale surface observations. ASL Environmental Sciences (ASL) offers a possible solution through modification of the ASL Acoustic Zooplankton and Fish Profiler (AZFP). Designed for stationary mooring on the seafloor, we will use the AZFP in a vessel-mounted, downward-looking orientation from the sea surface. This requires modifying the AZFP's external hardware and developing custom software. The objectives of this project are to (i) modify the AZFP for efficient use on small boats and (ii) evaluate the performance of the AZFP regarding its utility for collecting high-resolution prey data near feeding baleen whales.