Marine Conservation Research International, R/V Song of the Whale Team, 94 High Street, Kelvedon, CO5 9AA, UK.
Duke University Marine Laboratory, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA.
Mar Environ Res. 2024 Oct;201:106674. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106674. Epub 2024 Aug 10.
Oceans are increasingly crowded by anthropogenic activities yet the impact on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) marine life remains largely unquantified. The MAPS (Marine Mammal Acoustic and Spatial Ecology) study of 2019 included passive acoustic and visual vessel surveys over the Mid-Atlantic OCS of the USA to address data gaps in winter/spring for deep-diving cetaceans, including sperm whales. Echolocation clicks were used to derive slant ranges to sperm whales for design- and model-based density estimates. Although more survey effort was realised in the spring, high densities of whales were identified in both winter and spring (10.46 and 8.89 per 1000 km respectively). The spring model-based abundance estimate of 1587 whales (CI 946-2663) was considered the most representative figure, in part due to lower coefficients of variation. Modelling suggested that high densities of whales were associated with warm core rings, eddies and edges. As OCS waters provide an important foraging habitat for North Atlantic sperm whales, appropriate mitigation is required to ensure commercial pressures to develop offshore energy do not negatively affect this endangered species.
海洋受到越来越多的人为活动的影响，但对大陆架外部（OCS）海洋生物的影响在很大程度上仍未量化。2019 年的 MAPS（海洋哺乳动物声学和空间生态学）研究包括在美国中大西洋 OCS 进行被动声学和船只视觉调查，以解决冬季/春季深海鲸目动物（包括抹香鲸）的数据空白。回声定位点击用于获得抹香鲸的斜距，以进行基于设计和模型的密度估计。尽管春季的调查工作增加了，但在冬季和春季都发现了鲸鱼的高密度（分别为每 1000 公里 10.46 和 8.89 头）。春季基于模型的 1587 头鲸鱼丰度估计（946-2663 头的置信区间）被认为是最具代表性的数字，部分原因是变异系数较低。建模表明，鲸鱼的高密度与暖核环、漩涡和边缘有关。由于 OCS 水域是北大西洋抹香鲸的重要觅食栖息地，因此需要采取适当的缓解措施，以确保开发海上能源的商业压力不会对这一濒危物种产生负面影响。
