Advancing baleen whale acoustic and habitat monitoring in the Northwest Atlantic

Abstract

Baleen whales of the Northwest Atlantic live in an urbanized ocean. They attempt a slow recovery from commercial whaling amid threats from the infrastructure, pollution, and shifting environmental baseline associated with human exploitation of the natural world. Current risk mitigation strategies all rely on a comprehensive knowledge of whale distribution, which is difficult to obtain given limited resources, a vast ocean, and the cryptic nature of whale behaviour. This thesis strives to advance baleen whale monitoring with passive acoustics, habitat ecology, and new technology. Chapters 2 and 3 use several different approaches to improve the quality and interpretation of data derived from passive acoustic monitoring. Chapter 4 introduces "WhaleMap", a tool for rapidly collating and displaying whale survey results to inform dynamic research and management activities. Chapters 5 and 6 characterize associations among baleen whale species and their oceanographic habitat to identify priority areas and times for increased monitoring and/or risk mitigation. Particular focus is paid to the North Atlantic right whale because their dire conservation status motivates much of this work, but in many cases the results apply to other baleen whale species. It is our hope that the monitoring advancements put forward by this thesis lead directly to improved conservation outcomes that help preserve these species for generations to come.