E LKE B URKHARDT 1 , O LAF B OEBEL 1 , B ORIS C ISEWSKI 2 , R AMONA M ATTMÜLLER 1 , M ARLENE M EISTER 1 , E LENA S CHALL 1 , S TEFANIE S PIESECKE 1 , K AROLIN T HOMISCH 1 S ARAH Z WICKER 1 & I LSE V AN O PZEELAND 1
1 Alfred Wegener Institute – Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany, 2 Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries, Bremerhaven, Germany
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) acoustic presence off Elephant Island, Antarctica
References:
Baumann-Pickering, S., A. Sirovic, J. Trickey, J. A. Hildebrand, M. V. Reyes Reyes, M. Melcón, and M. A. Iniguez (2015), Cetacean Presence near Elephant Island; Antarctica, based on passive acoustic monitoring, SC/66a/SH18, 11.
Buchan, S. J., L. Gutierrez, N. Balcazar-Cabrera, and K. M. Stafford (2019), Seasonal occurrence of fin whale song off Juan Fernandez, Chile, Endangered Species Research, 39, 135-145.
Širović, A., Hildebrand, J. A., Wiggins, S. M., McDonald, M. A., Moore, S. E., and Thiele, D. (2004). "Seasonality of blue and fin whale calls and the influence of sea ice in the Western Antarctic Peninsula," Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 51, 2327-2344 Širović, A., J. A. Hildebrand, and S. M. Wiggins (2009), Blue and fin whale acoustic presence around Antarctica during 2003 and 2004, Marine Mammal Science, 25(1), 125-136, doi:DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00239.x.
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BREMERHAVEN Am Handelshafen 12 27570 Bremerhaven Telefon 0471 4831-0 www.awi.de
#680
In a nutshell:
• Repeated sightings of large fin whale groups suggest the
Elephant Island (EI) area serves as important feeding spot.
• PAM data collected between Jan 2013 - Feb 2016 show recurring acoustic presence for extended periods of time.
• Analysis links calls primarily to breeding, rather than feeding.
• Analysis identifies EI as key habitat for fin whales throughout substantial part of the year, calling for management of
anthropogenic activities in this area. © M. Wurst AWI
March 21, 2012 61° 6.786‘S, 55° 54.117‘W
Ratio of acoustic power for 88-90 Hz band versus the mean of the 80-82 and 98-100 Hz bands (4-hourly data was subjected to a 14-day running mean.
inter-annual similarity of acoustic activity.
(SNR 89 Hz similar to SNR 20 Hz while avoiding blue whale call contamination.)
Jan-Nov 2013 continuous data calls/10 min file vs. 89-Hz SNR
SNR of 89 Hz call component shows similar waxing and weaning as manual call counts.
Jan-Nov fin whale call abundance (per 10 min) derived
from continuous Sonovault data (every 7 th file on every 6 th day)
no diel cycle.
A) Longterm spectrogram of AURAL recordings Jan 2013 – Feb 2016; B) SNR 89 Hz call; C) Grey shading: daily acoustic occurrence, blue dots and cyan line: sea ice coverage; D) backscatter strength upward looking ADCP. Lines in plots 2-4 represent 14-day running means. MVBS is displayed in dB, hence a 3 dB increase implies a doubling of the reflecting biomass.
A
B
C
D
2013 diel pattern 89-Hz SNR for 3 year AURAL data Call abundance (boxplot) and 89-Hz SNR (line)
Fin whale 20 Hz pulse Fin whale 89Hz call component
Seasonality in acoustic presence, peaking in fall.
Peak season coinciding with onset of Southern Hemisphere fin whale mating season (April/May).
Lack of diel cycle during peak acoustic activity.
Acoustic activity increases subsequent to peak in ADCP- Mean Volume Backscatter (proxy for food)
Acoustic activity decreases prior to ice formation
EI might serve as important feeding and breeding area before partial northward migration
winter
winter spring summer spring summer winter spring summer
summer fall fall fall
A
B
C
D
Site Latitude South
Longitude West
period Study Analysi
s type
detection range [km]
presence
S2 63°50.63’ 67°08.33’ Mar 01–Feb 03 SI 2004 ASC
FIN-89
< 60 (> 60)
-FMAM---
S1 62°16.44’ 62°10.02’ Mar 01–Feb 03 SI 2004 ASC FIN-89
< 60 (> 60)
--MAM---
WAP (=S1) 62°16.69’ 62°07.80’ Mar 03–Feb 04 SI 2009 ASC FIN-89
see S1 ..MAMJ---
EI- AWI 61° 0.9’ 55°58.5’ Jan 13–Feb 16 this study
MSC FIN-21 FIN-89
30 --MAMJJ---
EI-SCRIPPS 60°53.2’ 55°57.2’ Mar 14–Jul 14 BP 2015 FIN-21 - ..MAMJJ...
Scotia Sea 60°00.02’ 51°53.88’ Jan 03–Apr 03 SI 2009 ASC FIN-89
-FMA...
Scotia Sea 54°-58° 50°-35° Jan 03–Feb 03 SI 2006 -F...
Chile HA03 33°27.5’ 78°56.0’ Jan 07–Dec 09 SB 2019 ASC FIN-17 FIN-85
97 to 324 ---AMJJASON-
Chile HA03 33°27.5’ 78°56.0’ Apr 14–Dec 16 SB 2019 ASC FIN-17 FIN-85
97 to 324 ---AMJJASON-
