Movements, behavior, and spatial use of odontocetes off the mid-Atlantic states
From 2014 through 2018 we were involved in a collaborative project with researchers from Duke University Marine Lab to examine movements and diving behavior of a number of species of odontocetes along the east coast of the U.S., using LIMPET satellite tags. Starting in 2017 this work expanded as part of a behavioral response study to examine how some species respond to mid-frequency active sonar, collaborating with researchers from Southall Environmental Associates and others. The primary study area is off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with additional field effort off Jacksonville, Florida. The two primary study species are Cuvier’s beaked whales and short-finned pilot whales, but we have also obtained movement information from common bottlenose dolphins (in 2014, 2015 and 2016), short-beaked common dolphins (in 2014 and 2016), an Atlantic spotted dolphin (in 2016), a Clymene dolphin (in 2016), a Risso’s dolphin (in 2016), and a sperm whale (in 2015). More details are available in the yearly reports below as well as a number of peer-reviewed publications that have come out on this work.
A Clymene dolphin off North Carolina in 2016. Photo by Danielle Waples, Duke University. We obtained a 20-day track of one Clymene dolphin in 2016, the first satellite tagging of this species in the mid-Atlantic.
Cascadia biologists involved in this effort are Daniel Webster and Robin Baird. For more information on this work contact Robin Baird at rwbaird (at) cascadiaresearch.org
The tagging work was undertaken under NMFS scientific research permits No. 15330 and 20605, and was funded by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic as part of the Navy’s marine species monitoring program
Publications and reports
- Cioffi, W.R., N.J. Quick, Z.T. Swaim, H.J. Foley, D.M. Waples, D.L. Webster, R.W. Baird, B.L. Southall, D.P. Nowacek, & A.J. Read. 2023. Trade-offs in telemetry tag programming for deep-diving cetaceans: data longevity, resolution, and continuity. Animal Biotelemetry 11: 223. doi: 10.1186/s40317-023-00334-1
- Cioffi, W.R., N.J. Quick, H.J. Foley, D.M. Waples, Z.T. Swaim, J.M. Shearer, D.L.Webster, A.S. Friedlaender, B.L. Southall, R.W. Baird, D.P. Nowacek, and A.J. Read. 2021. Adult male Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) engage in prolonged bouts of synchronous diving. Marine Mammal Science.
- Foley, H.J., K. Pacific, R.W. Baird, D.L. Webster, Z.T. Swaim, and A.J. Read. 2021. Residency and movement patterns of Cuvier’s beaked whales Ziphius cavirostris off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 660:203-216. Download PDF copy
- Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, Z.T. Swaim, J.M. Aschettino, H.J. Foley, W.R. Cioffi, D.B. Anderson, and A.J. Read. 2019. Spatial use by Cuvier’s beaked whales and short-finned pilot whales satellite tagged off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina: 2018 annual progress report. Prepared for U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Download PDF copy.
- Shearer, J.M., N.J. Quick, W.R. Cioffi, R.W. Baird, D.L Webster, H.J. Foley, Z.T. Swaim, D.M. Waples, J.T. Bell and A.J. Read. 2019. Diving behavior of Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Royal Society Open Science. 6:181728. Download PDF copy.
- Thorne, L.H., R.W. Baird, D.L. Webster, J.E. Stepanuk, and A.J. Read. 2019. Predicting fisheries bycatch: a case study and field test for pilot whales in a pelagic longline fishery. Diversity and Distributions doi 10.1111/ddi.12912. Download PDF copy.
- Stepanuk, J.E.F., A.J. Read, R.W. Baird, D.L. Webster and L.H. Thorne. 2018. Spatiotemporal patterns of overlap between short-finned pilot whales and the U.S. pelagic longline fishery in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: an assessment to inform the management of fisheries bycatch. Fisheries Research 208:309-320. Download PDF copy
- Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, Z.T. Swaim, H.J. Foley, D.B. Anderson, and A.J. Read. 2018. Spatial use by Cuvier’s beaked whales and short-finned pilot whales satellite tagged off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina: 2017 Annual Progress Report. Prepared for U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, under Contract No. N62470-15-D-8006 to HDR. March 2018. Download PDF copy
- Forney, K. A., Southall, B. L., Slooten, E., Dawson, S., Read, A. J., Baird, R. W., Brownell, R. L. Jr. 2017. Nowhere to go: noise impact assessments for marine mammal populations with high site fidelity. Endangered Species Research doi: 10.3354/esr00820 Download PDF copy
- Thorne, L. H., H. J. Foley, R. W. Baird, D. L. Webster, Z. T. Swaim, and A. J. Read. 2017. Movement and foraging behavior of short-finned pilot whales in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: importance of bathymetric features and implications for management. Marine Ecology Progress Series DOI: 10.3354/meps12371 Download PDF copy
- Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, Z.T. Swaim, H.J. Foley, D.B. Anderson, and A.J. Read. 2017. Spatial use by odontocetes satellite tagged off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in 2016. Prepared for U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, under Contract No. N62470-15-D-8006 to HDR. Download PDF copy
- Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, Z. Swaim, H.J. Foley, D.B. Anderson, and A.J. Read. 2016. Spatial use by odontocetes satellite tagged off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in 2015. Final report. Prepared for U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, under Contract No. N62470-10-3011 to HDR. 29 July 2016. Download PDF copy
- Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, Z. Swaim, H.J. Foley, D.B. Anderson and A.J. Read. 2015. Spatial use by Cuvier’s beaked whales, short-finned pilot whales, common bottlenose dolphins, and short-beaked common dolphins, satellite tagged off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in 2014. Prepared for U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, under Contract No. N6247010-D-3011 to HDR. Download PDF copy