Download or read book An Integrative Approach for Evaluating Compliance with Vessel Regulations to Reduce Disturbances to Killer Whales orcinus Orca written by Nikol J. Damato and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Southern Resident Killer Whales Orcinus Orca written by Deborah A. Giles and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation concerns the southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca), a genetically isolated population of fish-eating killer whales that frequent the international waters of the Salish Sea between the United States and Canada in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Research was conducted from June 1 to October 31, 2007 and from June 7 to October 31, 2008, between geographic coordinates: 48°12' to 49° N latitude by 122°43' to 123°50° W longitude. The southern resident killer whale population has experienced multiple fluctuations since population surveys were initiated by the Center for Whale Research (CWR) in the mid 1970's. In November 2005, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northwest Regional Office listed the southern resident killer whales as an endangered distinct population segment of the species Orcinus orca under the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA). Several risk factors including reductions in the quantity and quality of prey (salmon), exposure to persistent toxins, and disturbance from vessel presence and associated noise were identified as contributing to the decline of this already small population. With the listing under the ESA, critical habitat was designated in the inland waters around the U.S. San Juan Islands, Washington State and the Canadian Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada. Chapter one, Managing Vessel-based Killer Whale Watching: A Critical Assessment of the Evolution from Voluntary Guidelines to Regulations in the Salish Sea, provides background on the southern resident killer whales and the robust international whale watching industry in the region. This chapter also provides a detailed history of local, state, federal and international vessel laws and guidelines for watching whales in the Salish Sea. Chapter two, Non-invasive methods to study southern resident killer whales and vessel compliance with regulations, describes a novel equipment package, consisting of a differential GPS integrated with a digital compass and laser rangefinder that allowed me to collect accurate geo-referenced locations and behavioral data on whales and vessels throughout the whale's critical habitat. To improve both the spatial and temporal data on whale-vessel interactions, the information collected with this equipment was used to assess vessel compliance with local, state and federal laws and the regionally accepted best-practices Be Whale Wise Guidelines. Chapter three, The effects of vessels on group cohesion and behavior of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca), discusses research investigating changes in killer whale group cohesion in response to vessel density, distance and mode of operation. Future cetacean studies would benefit from using the equipment and methods presented here, especially in areas that are not conducive to land-based theodolite collected data.
Download or read book The Relationship Between Vessel Traffic and Noise Levels Received by Killer Whales and an Evaluation of Compliance with Vessel Regulations written by Juliana Houghton and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whale watching has become increasingly popular as an ecotourism activity around the globe and is beneficial for environmental education and local economies. Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) comprise an endangered population that is frequently observed by a large whale watching fleet in the inland waters of Washington state and British Columbia. One of the factors identified as a risk to recovery for the population is the effect of vessels and associated noise. Federal regulations limit the approach distance of vessels to 200 m and voluntary guidelines suggest a maximum vessel speed of 7 knots within 400 m of the whales. An examination of the effects of vessels and associated noise on whale behavior utilized novel equipment to address limitations of previous studies. Digital acoustic recording tags measured the noise levels the tagged whales received while laser positioning systems allowed collection of geo-referenced data for tagged whales and all vessels within 1000 m. The objectives of the current study were 1) to compare vessel data and DTAG recordings to relate vessel traffic to the ambient noise tagged whales receive and 2) to utilize the vessel data to examine vessel behavior during whale watching and assess trends in vessel behavior over time. Vessel attributes found to be significant predictors of noise levels in the likelihood model, using all intervals of vessel and noise data, were length (inverse relationship), number of propellers, and vessel speed (however, R2 = 0.15). When intervals that only recorded the research vessel were excluded, the only significant predictor of noise levels in the likelihood model was vessel speed (R2 = 0.42). Average vessel speed and number of propellers per interval were the only significant correlates with noise levels using simple linear regression (i.e. ignoring other concurrent characteristics). Research, commercial whale watching, and private whale watching vessels increased their distance from observed whales over time. The occurrence of research and commercial whale watching vessels within 100 m of a tagged whale also significantly decreased over time. However, vessel speed (excluding research vessels) significantly increased over time for vessels at distances of 200 m and 400 m from whales. Compliance with the distance regulation has improved, even though distance was not a significant correlate with noise levels received by whales. Increases in vessel speed are a cause for concern since speed was the most important predictor of noise levels received by whales in this study. The information presented here may be useful to managers in assessing the effectiveness of current recovery efforts.
Download or read book Reducing Disturbance from Vessels to Southern Resident Killer Whales written by Grace A. Ferrara and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Model based Approach Investigating Killer Whale Orcinus Orca Exposure to Marine Vessel Engine Exhaust written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The summer habitat of the southern resident population of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in British Columbia and Washington experiences heavy traffic by vessels involved in whale-watching, sport fishing, other recreational activities, and shipping. Behavioural changes caused by vessel proximity and the impacts of vessel noise have been previously documented, but this is the first study to assess direct impacts of air pollutant emissions from vessel traffic. The concentration and composition of air pollutants from whale-watching vessels that southern resident killer whales are exposed to during the peak tourist season were estimated, as were the health impacts of the exposure. Specifically, the study a) estimated the output of airborne pollutants from the whale-watching fleet based on emissions data from regulatory agencies, b) estimated the vertical dispersion of such pollutants based on air stability data collected in the field and from climatological sources, c) used a dispersion model incorporating data on whale, vessel, and atmospheric behaviour to estimate exposure, and d) examined the likely physiological consequences of this exposure based on allometric extrapolation of data from other mammalian species. The results of these exercises indicate that the current whale-watching guidelines are usually effective in limiting pollutant exposure to levels just at or below those at which adverse health effects would be expected in killer whales. However, under worst-case conditions and even under certain average-case conditions the pollutant levels are much higher than those predicted to cause adverse health effects. With this information, recommendations are made for further studies that would fill in missing information, and increase confidence in the models, and the predicted impact on the southern resident killer whales. Recommendations for limiting killer whale exposure to air pollutants are also provided.
Download or read book Project Deep Ops written by C. A. Bowers and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Protective Regulations for Killer Whales in Northwest Region Under Endangered Species ACT and Marine Mammal Protection ACT Us National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Regulation Noaa 2018 Edition written by The Law Library and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-01-04 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Law Library presents the complete text of the Protective Regulations for Killer Whales in Northwest Region under Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Regulation) (NOAA) (2018 Edition). Updated as of May 29, 2018 We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), establish regulations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to prohibit vessels from approaching killer whales within 200 yards (182.9 m) and from parking in the path of whales when in inland waters of Washington State. Certain vessels are exempt from the prohibitions. The purpose of this final rule is to protect killer whales from interference and noise associated with vessels. We identified disturbance and sound associated with vessels as a potential contributing factor in the recent decline of this population during the development of the final rule announcing the endangered listing of Southern Resident killer whales and the associated Recovery Plan for Southern Resident killer whales (Recovery Plan). The Recovery Plan calls for evaluating current guidelines and assessing the need for regulations and/or protected areas. To implement the actions in the Recovery Plan, we developed this final rule after considering comments submitted in response to an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) and proposed rule, and preparing an environmental assessment (EA). This final rule does not include a seasonal no-go zone for vessels along the west side of San Juan Island that was in the proposed rule. We will continue to collect information on a no-go zone for consideration in a future rulemaking. This ebook contains: - The complete text of the Protective Regulations for Killer Whales in Northwest Region under Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Regulation) (NOAA) (2018 Edition) - A dynamic table of content linking to each section - A table of contents in introduction presenting a general overview of the structure
Download or read book An Evaluation of Evolutionary Processes written by David Edmund Bain and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Whale and Small Vessel Interactions written by Molly Fraser and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Compliance is a key feature for the management of non-consumptive wildlife viewing, as it can link management measures to performance and aid in developing recommendations that promote sustainable practices. Whale watching is a prominent wildlife viewing industry that is steadily rising in demand around the world. Managing vessel-cetacean encounters and operator behaviour (both commercial and recreational) is key to limiting impacts on cetaceans, yet the scale of regulatory compliance is often poor or unknown. Although efforts exist to regulate whale watching, challenges arise for the assessment of compliance in marine environments, as they are inherently spatially vast, lack physical boundaries, and can involve mobile stressors (i.e. vessels) and species. Chapter 1 reviews the shift in paradigms from consumptive to non-consumptive activities and highlights challenges for those tasked with managing the growing wildlife tourism industry, and in particular, whale watching. After reviewing a suite of measures prevalent around the world, this chapter then focuses on the Salish Sea's approach to managing whale watching. This area epitomizes a major whale watching hub and displays complex, multi-jurisdictional and constantly evolving measures. Due to a lack of knowledge in this region, Chapter 2 shifts from theory to practice and assesses regulatory compliance with marine mammal distance regulations from 2018 to 2019 in the Salish Sea. Although compliance was nearly 80%, key drivers including vessel and species type were found to significantly influence non-compliance. Recreational vessels were non-compliant 41.9% of the time and 74.2% of non-compliant encounters occurred around killer whales across both years. The findings of the study demonstrate that case-specific investigation of compliance is necessary as each region is unique in its approach to management. Lastly, recommendations are proposed that can benefit marine managers and policymakers to enhance the performance of measures and subsequently minimize risk to cetaceans.
Download or read book Recommendations to Reform the Laws Protecting Orca from Boat Traffic written by Rose Keates and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Historical Ecology of Salish Sea Resident Killer Whales Orcinus Orca with Implications for Management written by and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Orca written by Erich Hoyt and published by Camden East, Ont. : Camden House. This book was released on 1984 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Account of a study of killer whales undertaken between 1973 and 1979 off the coast of BC.
Download or read book The Effects of Anthropogenic Noise on the Vocal Behavior of Southern Resident Killer Whales Orcinus Orca written by Jennifer Beissinger Tennessen and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Assessing Southern Resident Killer Whale Orcinus Orca Prey Abundance written by Erin Leigh Strange and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Predator-prey dynamics and their ecological drivers have absorbed the interest of population ecologists since models were first developed describing the cyclical nature of predator-prey populations in a static framework. Empirical data has demonstrated that species life histories evolve over ecological timescales in response to changes in broad ecological processes or specific changes in population densities and/or spatial distributions. Anthropomorphic environmental impacts have influenced ecological processes on a broad scale and in many cases impacted predator-prey relationships. Southern Resident killer whale, Orcinus orca, and its preferred prey, Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawystcha, provide an opportunity to evaluate human impacts from Chinook salmon ocean harvest and hatchery production to the predator-prey dynamic between these co-evolved species. This is particularly important when considering the management of ocean fisheries and hatcheries that support those fisheries relative to the recovery of the Southern Resident killer whale population, a federally-endangered marine mammal species. The purpose of this study was to: 1) investigate the impacts of modifications in Chinook salmon ocean harvest and hatchery production inputs on their abundance as a prey species for Southern Resident killer whale; and 2) evaluate how the Southern Resident killer whale population responds to the subsequent prey availability. Time-series (1984-2011) Chinook salmon terminal run (freshwater harvest plus spawning population) and ocean fishery harvest data from British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California, were analyzed under twelve scenarios involving different combinations of ocean fishery harvest and hatchery production. Chinook salmon terminal run results were used as input to the Southern Resident killer whale population dynamics model to evaluate the whale population response to varying levels of prey availability. Two covariates were chosen for the Chinook salmon time-series analysis: reduction in ocean fishery harvest and reduction in hatchery production. The primary response variable chosen for this analysis was Chinook salmon terminal run, although ocean fishery harvest and Chinook salmon total abundance were also evaluated. Linear regression was used to evaluate the influence that reductions in ocean harvest and hatchery production have on the relative absolute change in Chinook salmon terminal run, fishery harvest, and total abundance between the status quo and each scenario. A Mann-Whitney Test was used to determine trends between early and late periods in the Chinook salmon time-series. Results of this study indicate significant interactions between covariate and response variables, revealing that reduction in ocean fishery harvest explains the amount of Chinook salmon in the terminal run to a weak degree, while the reduction in hatchery production explains the amount of Chinook salmon in the terminal run to a moderate degree. Although percent reduction calculations showed decreasing ocean harvest as hatchery production decreased, the linear regression showed that percent reduction in hatchery production does not explain the amount of Chinook salmon ocean fishery harvest. The ocean fishery harvest reduction percentage weakly explains the Chinook salmon fishery harvest. In addition, reduction in hatchery production explains the total abundance of Chinook salmon in the ocean to a weak degree, while ocean harvest reduction explains the total abundance of Chinook salmon in the ocean to a moderate degree. Results also indicate a significant decrease in fishery impacts from an early time period (1984-1997) to a late time period (1998-2011), while no significant difference was demonstrated between the two timeframes for terminal run and total abundance. Southern Resident killer whale modeling results revealed that all of the Chinook salmon scenarios (terminal run data) resulted in a positive Southern Resident killer whale population growth response. However, statistical analysis between scenarios indicated no significant difference in the Southern Resident killer whale population growth over a 10-year projection. These results have value to fishery managers with regard to potential modifications to Chinook salmon ocean fishing harvest and hatchery production that may result in a greater prey base for the Southern resident killer whale population. Identification of the Chinook salmon populations most important as prey to Southern resident killer whale could focus natural/wild Chinook salmon population restoration and hatchery reform efforts with the target of increasing the numbers of Chinook salmon produced in those important watersheds. Chinook salmon management decisions directed at changing the focus of hatchery operations to support naturally spawning populations and improving freshwater habitats to support natural/wild spawning Chinook salmon populations may provide more prey over the long-term for Southern resident killer whale than management actions directed at further restrictions on the commercial ocean Chinook salmon fishery. However, based on prior research (Ward et al. 2013) and the results of this study, Chinook salmon management practice involving a complete closure of the ocean fishery while maintaining current levels of hatchery production may produce a higher likelihood that the Southern Resident killer whale population would reach their recovery target.
Download or read book The Effect of Boat Activity on the Behaviour of Killer Whales Orcinus Orca Off San Juan Island USA written by Susannah Charlesworth and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Behavioral Biology of Killer Whales written by Barbara C. Kirkevold and published by Wiley-Liss. This book was released on 1986-12-30 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique volume presents recent findings concerning the biological and behavioral aspects of the killer whale, Orcinus orca. The 16 chapters are organized into three sections, with an overview and conclusion. Section I treats the evolution and natural history of the killer whale, including coverage of taxonomy, population structure, and feeding behavior. Section II discusses the behavior and social groupings of Orcinus orca, including coverage of behavioral and respiratory synchronization, cohesive relationships, and behavioral ontogeny. Section III examines vocalizations and communication, looking, in particular, at sound and behavioral correlations in captives, sequences, periodicity, behavioral correlates, and an automated technique for call classification.
Download or read book Management Recommendations written by Johnstone Strait Killer Whale Committee (Canada) and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
