TY - JOUR
T1 - Temporal acoustic occurrence of sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus and long-finned pilot whales Globicephala melas off western Ireland
AU - Barile, Cynthia
AU - Berrow, Simon
AU - Parry, Gareth
AU - O’Brien, Joanne
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Inter-Research 2021.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus and long-finned pilot whales Globicephala melas are the most abundant species among the community of deep-diving cetaceans occurring off the west coast of Ireland, northeast Atlantic. To address a knowledge gap on these elusive species in an area subject to increasing levels of anthropogenic noise, fixed bottom-mounted autonomous acoustic recorders were deployed from 2014 to 2016 at 13 locations. Acoustic data were collected over 2410 cumulative days, for a total of 9179 h of recordings, with sperm whale clicks and pilot whale whistles detected on 79 and 53% of the days monitored, respectively. Diel, lunar and seasonal effects on the acoustic occurrence of sperm whales and long-finned pilot whales were investigated for individual recording sites and for each recording year using generalised estimating equations. Large differences in acoustic occurrence across stations for both species highlighted the existence of more critical locations throughout the year, especially to the north of the shelf edge. Temporally, significant modulations were found for both species at all scales investigated, but the lack of consistency across the study area emphasises the need to exercise great caution when inferring general tendencies based on local patterns. The variability of spatio-temporal patterns indicates a flexibility in the distribution of sperm whales and long-finned pilot whales off the west coast of Ireland, highlighting the challenge in establishing management and mitigation measures and stressing the need of long-term, year-round monitoring.
AB - Sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus and long-finned pilot whales Globicephala melas are the most abundant species among the community of deep-diving cetaceans occurring off the west coast of Ireland, northeast Atlantic. To address a knowledge gap on these elusive species in an area subject to increasing levels of anthropogenic noise, fixed bottom-mounted autonomous acoustic recorders were deployed from 2014 to 2016 at 13 locations. Acoustic data were collected over 2410 cumulative days, for a total of 9179 h of recordings, with sperm whale clicks and pilot whale whistles detected on 79 and 53% of the days monitored, respectively. Diel, lunar and seasonal effects on the acoustic occurrence of sperm whales and long-finned pilot whales were investigated for individual recording sites and for each recording year using generalised estimating equations. Large differences in acoustic occurrence across stations for both species highlighted the existence of more critical locations throughout the year, especially to the north of the shelf edge. Temporally, significant modulations were found for both species at all scales investigated, but the lack of consistency across the study area emphasises the need to exercise great caution when inferring general tendencies based on local patterns. The variability of spatio-temporal patterns indicates a flexibility in the distribution of sperm whales and long-finned pilot whales off the west coast of Ireland, highlighting the challenge in establishing management and mitigation measures and stressing the need of long-term, year-round monitoring.
KW - Acoustics
KW - GAM
KW - GEE
KW - Generalised additive model
KW - Generalised estimating equation
KW - Long-finned pilot whale
KW - Sperm whale
KW - Western Ireland
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121349895&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3354/meps13594
DO - 10.3354/meps13594
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85121349895
SN - 0171-8630
VL - 661
SP - 203
EP - 227
JO - Marine Ecology Progress Series
JF - Marine Ecology Progress Series
ER -