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Feyrer LJ, Stanistreet JE, Moors-Murphy HB. Navigating the unknown: assessing anthropogenic threats to beaked whales, family Ziphiidae. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:240058. [PMID: 38633351 PMCID: PMC11021932 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.240058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
This review comprehensively evaluates the impacts of anthropogenic threats on beaked whales (Ziphiidae)-a taxonomic group characterized by cryptic biology, deep dives and remote offshore habitat, which have challenged direct scientific observation. By synthesizing information published in peer-reviewed studies and grey literature, we identified available evidence of impacts across 14 threats for each Ziphiidae species. Threats were assessed based on their pathways of effects on individuals, revealing many gaps in scientific understanding of the risks faced by beaked whales. By applying a comprehensive taxon-level analysis, we found evidence that all beaked whale species are affected by multiple stressors, with climate change, entanglement and plastic pollution being the most common threats documented across beaked whale species. Threats assessed as having a serious impact on individuals included whaling, military sonar, entanglement, depredation, vessel strikes, plastics and oil spills. This review emphasizes the urgent need for targeted research to address a range of uncertainties, including cumulative and population-level impacts. Understanding the evidence and pathways of the effects of stressors on individuals can support future assessments, guide practical mitigation strategies and advance current understanding of anthropogenic impacts on rare and elusive marine species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J. Feyrer
- Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, Nova ScotiaB2Y 4A2, Canada
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova ScotiaB3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Joy E. Stanistreet
- Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, Nova ScotiaB2Y 4A2, Canada
| | - Hilary B. Moors-Murphy
- Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, Nova ScotiaB2Y 4A2, Canada
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Hin V, de Roos AM, Benoit-Bird KJ, Claridge DE, DiMarzio N, Durban JW, Falcone EA, Jacobson EK, Jones-Todd CM, Pirotta E, Schorr GS, Thomas L, Watwood S, Harwood J. Using individual-based bioenergetic models to predict the aggregate effects of disturbance on populations: A case study with beaked whales and Navy sonar. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0290819. [PMID: 37651444 PMCID: PMC10470956 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic activities can lead to changes in animal behavior. Predicting population consequences of these behavioral changes requires integrating short-term individual responses into models that forecast population dynamics across multiple generations. This is especially challenging for long-lived animals, because of the different time scales involved. Beaked whales are a group of deep-diving odontocete whales that respond behaviorally when exposed to military mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS), but the effect of these nonlethal responses on beaked whale populations is unknown. Population consequences of aggregate exposure to MFAS was assessed for two beaked whale populations that are regularly present on U.S. Navy training ranges where MFAS is frequently used. Our approach integrates a wide range of data sources, including telemetry data, information on spatial variation in habitat quality, passive acoustic data on the temporal pattern of sonar use and its relationship to beaked whale foraging activity, into an individual-based model with a dynamic bioenergetic module that governs individual life history. The predicted effect of disturbance from MFAS on population abundance ranged between population extinction to a slight increase in population abundance. These effects were driven by the interaction between the temporal pattern of MFAS use, baseline movement patterns, the spatial distribution of prey, the nature of beaked whale behavioral response to MFAS and the top-down impact of whale foraging on prey abundance. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for monitoring of marine mammal populations and highlight key uncertainties to help guide future directions for assessing population impacts of nonlethal disturbance for these and other long-lived animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Hin
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Wageningen Marine Research, IJmuiden, The Netherlands
| | - André M. de Roos
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Kelly J. Benoit-Bird
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, California, United States of America
| | | | - Nancy DiMarzio
- Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | | | - Erin A. Falcone
- Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research, Seabeck, Washington, United States of America
| | - Eiren K. Jacobson
- Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | | | - Enrico Pirotta
- Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Gregory S. Schorr
- Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research, Seabeck, Washington, United States of America
| | - Len Thomas
- Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Stephanie Watwood
- Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, Rhode Island, United States of America
| | - John Harwood
- Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
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Baumann‐Pickering S, Trickey JS, Solsona‐Berga A, Rice A, Oleson EM, Hildebrand JA, Frasier KE. Geographic differences in Blainville's beaked whale (
Mesoplodon densirostris
) echolocation clicks. DIVERS DISTRIB 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jennifer S. Trickey
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla California USA
| | - Alba Solsona‐Berga
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla California USA
| | - Ally Rice
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla California USA
| | - Erin M. Oleson
- Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Honolulu Hawaii USA
| | - John A. Hildebrand
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla California USA
| | - Kaitlin E. Frasier
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego La Jolla California USA
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Onoufriou AB, Gaggiotti OE, Aguilar de Soto N, McCarthy ML, Morin PA, Rosso M, Dalebout M, Davison N, Baird RW, Baker CS, Berrow S, Brownlow A, Burns D, Caurant F, Claridge D, Constantine R, Demaret F, Dreyer S, Ðuras M, Durban JW, Frantzis A, Freitas L, Genty G, Galov A, Hansen SS, Kitchener AC, Martin V, Mignucci-Giannoni AA, Montano V, Moulins A, Olavarría C, Poole MM, Reyes Suárez C, Rogan E, Ryan C, Schiavi A, Tepsich P, Urban R. J, West K, Olsen MT, Carroll EL. Biogeography in the deep: Hierarchical population genomic structure of two beaked whale species. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
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Fundamental Concepts, Knowledge Gaps and Key Concerns Relating to Welfare and Survival of Stranded Cetaceans. DIVERSITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/d14050338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Wildlife management can influence animal welfare and survival, although both are often not explicitly integrated into decision making. This study explores fundamental concepts and key concerns relating to the welfare and survival of stranded cetaceans. Using the Delphi method, the opinions of an international, interdisciplinary expert panel were gathered, regarding the characterisation of stranded cetacean welfare and survival likelihood, knowledge gaps and key concerns. Experts suggest that stranded cetacean welfare should be characterised based on interrelated aspects of animals’ biological function, behaviour, and mental state and the impacts of human interventions. The characterisation of survival likelihood should reflect aspects of stranded animals’ biological functioning and behaviour as well as a 6-month post-re-floating survival marker. Post-release monitoring was the major knowledge gap for survival. Welfare knowledge gaps related to diagnosing internal injuries, interpreting behavioural and physiological parameters, and euthanasia decision making. Twelve concerns were highlighted for both welfare and survival likelihood, including difficulty breathing and organ compression, skin damage and physical traumas, separation from conspecifics, and suffering and stress due to stranding and human intervention. These findings indicate inextricable links between perceptions of welfare state and the likely survival of stranded cetaceans and demonstrate a need to integrate welfare science alongside conservation biology to achieve effective, ethical management at strandings.
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Stanistreet JE, Beslin WAM, Kowarski K, Martin SB, Westell A, Moors-Murphy HB. Changes in the acoustic activity of beaked whales and sperm whales recorded during a naval training exercise off eastern Canada. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1973. [PMID: 35132140 PMCID: PMC8821608 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05930-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Experimental research has shown that beaked whales exhibit strong avoidance reactions to naval active sonars used during antisubmarine warfare training exercises, including cessation of echolocation and foraging activity. Behavioural responses to sonar have also been linked to strandings and mortality. Much of the research on the responses of beaked whales and other cetaceans to naval active sonar has occurred on or near U.S. naval training ranges, and the impacts of sonar in other regions remain poorly understood, particularly as these impacts, including mortality, are likely to go unobserved in offshore areas. In September 2016 the multinational naval exercise 'CUTLASS FURY 2016' (CF16) was conducted off eastern Canada. We used passive acoustic recordings collected in the region to quantify the occurrence and characteristics of sonar signals, measure ambient noise levels, and assess changes in the acoustic activity of beaked and sperm whales. The number of hours per day with echolocation clicks from Cuvier's beaked whales and sperm whales were significantly reduced during CF16, compared to the pre-exercise period in 2016 (sperm whales) and to control data from 2015 (both species). Clicks from an unidentified Mesoplodont beaked whale species, sporadically detected prior to CF16, were absent during the exercise and for 7 days afterward. These results suggest that beaked and sperm whales ceased foraging in the vicinity of CF16 and likely avoided the affected area. Such disturbance may have energetic, health, and fitness consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joy E Stanistreet
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, 1 Challenger Drive, Dartmouth, NS, Canada.
| | - Wilfried A M Beslin
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, 1 Challenger Drive, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
| | - Katie Kowarski
- JASCO Applied Sciences, 32 Troop Avenue, Suite 202, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
| | - S Bruce Martin
- JASCO Applied Sciences, 32 Troop Avenue, Suite 202, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
| | - Annabel Westell
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, 1 Challenger Drive, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
| | - Hilary B Moors-Murphy
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, 1 Challenger Drive, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
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Cetacean Acoustic Welfare in Wild and Managed-Care Settings: Gaps and Opportunities. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11113312. [PMID: 34828040 PMCID: PMC8614506 DOI: 10.3390/ani11113312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Whales and dolphins in managed-care and wild settings are exposed to human-made, anthropogenic sounds of varying degrees. These sounds can lead to potential negative welfare outcomes if not managed correctly in zoos or in the open ocean. Current wild regulations are based on generally broad taxa-based hearing thresholds, but there is movement to take other contextual factors into account, partially informed by researchers familiar with work in zoological settings. In this spirit, we present more nuanced future directions for the evaluation of acoustic welfare in both wild and managed-care settings, with suggestions for how research in both domains can inform each other as a means to address the paucity of research available on this topic, especially in managed-care environments. Abstract Cetaceans are potentially at risk of poor welfare due to the animals’ natural reliance on sound and the persistent nature of anthropogenic noise, especially in the wild. Industrial, commercial, and recreational human activity has expanded across the seas, resulting in a propagation of sound with varying frequency characteristics. In many countries, current regulations are based on the potential to induce hearing loss; however, a more nuanced approach is needed when shaping regulations, due to other non-hearing loss effects including activation of the stress response, acoustic masking, frequency shifts, alterations in behavior, and decreased foraging. Cetaceans in managed-care settings share the same acoustic characteristics as their wild counterparts, but face different environmental parameters. There have been steps to integrate work on welfare in the wild and in managed-care contexts, and the domain of acoustics offers the opportunity to inform and connect information from both managed-care settings and the wild. Studies of subjects in managed-care give controls not available to wild studies, yet because of the conservation implications, wild studies on welfare impacts of the acoustic environment on cetaceans have largely been the focus, rather than those in captive settings. A deep integration of wild and managed-care-based acoustic welfare research can complement discovery in both domains, as captive studies can provide greater experimental control, while the more comprehensive domain of wild noise studies can help determine the gaps in managed-care based acoustic welfare science. We advocate for a new paradigm in anthropogenic noise research, recognizing the value that both wild and managed-care research plays in illustrating how noise pollution affects welfare including physiology, behavior, and cognition.
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Feyrer LJ, Zhao ST, Whitehead H, Matthews CJD. Prolonged maternal investment in northern bottlenose whales alters our understanding of beaked whale reproductive life history. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0235114. [PMID: 32574188 PMCID: PMC7310684 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Nursing and weaning periods are poorly understood in cetaceans due to the difficulty of assessing underwater behaviour in the wild. However, the onset and completion of weaning are critical turning points for individual development and survival, with implications for a species' life history including reproductive potential. δ15N and δ13C deposited in odontocete teeth annuli provide a lifetime record of diet, offering an opportunity to investigate variation and trends in fundamental biology. While available reproductive parameters for beaked whales have largely been inferred from single records of stranded or hunted animals and extrapolated across species, here we examine the weaning strategy and nursing duration in northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus) by measuring stable isotopes deposited in dentine growth layer groups (GLGs). Using a collection of H. ampullatus teeth taken from whales killed during the whaling era (N = 48) and from two stranded specimens, we compared ontogenetic variation of δ15N and δ13C found in annual GLGs across all individuals, by sex and by region. We detected age-based trends in both δ15N and δ13C that are consistent across regions and males and females, and indicate that nursing is prolonged and weaning does not conclude until whales are 3-4 years old, substantially later than previous estimates of 1 year. Incorporating a prolonged period of maternal care into H. ampullatus life history significantly reduces their reproductive potential, with broad implications for models of beaked whale life history, energetics and the species' recovery from whaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Joan Feyrer
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Shu ting Zhao
- Arctic Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Hal Whitehead
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Cory J. D. Matthews
- Arctic Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Canada
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Simonis AE, Brownell RL, Thayre BJ, Trickey JS, Oleson EM, Huntington R, Baumann-Pickering S. Co-occurrence of beaked whale strandings and naval sonar in the Mariana Islands, Western Pacific. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200070. [PMID: 32070257 PMCID: PMC7062028 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS), used for antisubmarine warfare (ASW), has been associated with multiple beaked whale (BW) mass stranding events. Multinational naval ASW exercises have used MFAS offshore of the Mariana Archipelago semi-annually since 2006. We report BW and MFAS acoustic activity near the islands of Saipan and Tinian from March 2010 to November 2014. Signals from Cuvier's (Ziphius cavirostris) and Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris), and a third unidentified BW species, were detected throughout the recording period. Both recorders documented MFAS on 21 August 2011 before two Cuvier's beaked whales stranded on 22–23 August 2011. We compared the history of known naval operations and BW strandings from the Mariana Archipelago to consider potential threats to BW populations. Eight BW stranding events between June 2006 and January 2019 each included one to three animals. Half of these strandings occurred during or within 6 days after naval activities, and this co-occurrence is highly significant. We highlight strandings of individual BWs can be associated with ASW, and emphasize the value of ongoing passive acoustic monitoring, especially for beaked whales that are difficult to visually detect at sea. We strongly recommend more visual monitoring efforts, at sea and along coastlines, for stranded cetaceans before, during and after naval exercises.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne E Simonis
- Contractor to Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Robert L Brownell
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Monterey, CA, USA
| | - Bruce J Thayre
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | - Erin M Oleson
- Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Roderick Huntington
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, La Jolla, CA, USA.,Mount Edgecumbe High School, Sitka, AK, USA
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