A new model is presented for the avoidance behavior of migrating marine mammals in the presence of a noise stimulus. This model assumes that each whale will adjust its movement pattern near a sound source to maintain its exposure below its own individually specific maximum received sound-pressure level, called its avoidance threshold. The probability distribution function (PDF) of this avoidance threshold across individuals characterizes the migrating population. The avoidance threshold PDF may be estimated by comparing the distribution of migrating whales during playback and control conditions at their closest point of approach to the sound source. The proposed model was applied to the January 1998 experiment which placed a single acoustic source from the U.S. Navy SURTASS-LFA system in the migration corridor of grey whales off the California coast. This analysis found that the median avoidance threshold for this migrating grey whale population was 135 dB, with 90% confidence that the median threshold was within ±3 dB of this value. This value is less than the 141 dB value for 50% avoidance obtained when the 1984 ‘‘Probability of Avoidance’’ model of Malme et al.’s was applied to the same data. [Work supported by ONR.]
- An avoidance behavior model for migrating whale populations
- John R. Buck - University of Massachusetts DartmouthPeter L. Tyack - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol.113(4_Supplement), pp.2326-2326
- 1
- English
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Conference proceeding
- 9914419793401301