Project 4600
Project |
4600 |
Chief Investigator |
DOUBLE, Dr Michael (Mike) - Australian Antarctic Division |
Title |
Conservation and management of Australian and Antarctic whales – post-exploitation status, distribution, foraging ecology and their role in the Southern Ocean ecosystem |
Project aims
These new methods together with established approaches such as tagging, biopsy, photo-identification and passive acoustic detection will provide management-relevant information on the post-exploitation status, health, population dynamics, foraging ecology, environmental linkages, and threatening processes for many Southern Ocean cetaceans but especially humpback, blue, fin and minke whales.
Project gallery
Scientists and crew aboard the RV Investigator taken using a DJI Inspire 2 UAV
(Photo: Alex Vail and James Cox)
The DJI Inspire 2 UAV used to collect scientific data and general whale and scenic imagery
(Photo: Peter Shanks)
Map of Antarctic underwater recording sites from Brian Miller's paper published in Scientific Reports: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78995-8
(Photo: Brian Miller)
Ballistics testing for development of a drone based mechanism for biopsy darts and satellite tags at an indoor firing range.
(Photo: AAD, 2021)
Long-term spectral average showing a visualisation of underwater sounds recorded from 2014-2020 at our Southern Kerguelen Plateau recording site. Colour corresponds to intensity.
(Photo: Brian Miller, 2022)
Aerial survey of Australia's endangered southern right whales
(Photo: Josh Smith, 2022)
Project Summary of the Season 2019/20
Participation in the virtual meetings of the IWC Scientific Committee involved attendance at a large number of sessions including those related to stock assessment and modelling, the RMP, Aboriginal subsistence whaling, abundance estimates, bycatch, ship strike and ecosystem modelling. IWC-SORP continues to be well respected and highly productive with at least 21 peer-reviewed scientific papers in 2019/20, bringing the total number of peer-reviewed publications related to IWC-SORP to ca. 165. Moreover, 145 IWC-SORP related papers have been submitted to the Scientific Committee, 12 of them this year.
Analysis is ongoing for data obtained from the 2019 ENRICH voyage. This voyage offered the first opportunity to conduct a detailed survey of the distribution and characteristics of krill swarms while recording physical and biological oceanographic data together with the distribution and behaviour of the largest krill predators, primarily blue, fin and humpback whales.
Two moored acoustic recorders were retrieved at two long-term recording sites in East Antarctica. The instrument on the Casey resupply route recorded for 11.8 months and the instrument along the Mawson resupply route recorded for 14 months.
Finally, applications to progress novel and ethical research technologies were developed and successful. Taking these first steps towards development of these new technologies allows us to take advantage of the opportunities associated with the imminent delivery of RSV Nuyina to the Australian Antarctic Programme and the subsequent marine science activities that this vessel can support.
Project Summary of the Season 2020/21
Participation in the virtual meetings of the IWC Scientific Committee in April and May 2021 involved attendance at a large number of sessions including those related to stock assessment and modelling, the RMP, Aboriginal subsistence whaling, abundance estimates, bycatch, ship strike and ecosystem modelling. IWC-SORP continues to be well respected and highly productive with at least 41 peer-reviewed scientific papers in 2020/21, bringing the total number of peer-reviewed publications related to IWC-SORP produced since the start of the initiative to ca. 206. Moreover, 163 IWC-SORP related papers have been submitted to the Scientific Committee, 18 of them this year.
Our collection of long-term underwater recordings, used to monitoring decade-scale trends in marine mammal presence and abundance, continues to grow steadily. Three moored acoustic recorders were successfully retrieved and two moored acoustic recorders were successfully deployed.
Finally, we have continued to progress novel and ethical research technologies. The IWC approved funding for our application to develop a drone-based platform for whale biopsy and satellite tagging and preliminary work has begun. In addition, involvement in the Department of Industry's Business Research and Innovation Initiative challenge, in partnership with NOPSEMA, has resulted in significant advancement towards automated whale detection and data collation/transmission technology. Development of these new technologies allows us to take better advantage of the opportunities associated with the imminent delivery of RSV Nuyina to the Australian Antarctic Programme and the subsequent marine science activities that this vessel can support.
Project Summary of the Season 2021/22
The project has three principal objectives:
1 Conduct targeted research to inform and support Australia's policy, conservation and management objectives within the International Whaling Commission and other international fora.
2 Describe the post-exploitation status, health, population dynamics, foraging ecology, environmental linkages, and threatening processes for Australian and Southern Ocean cetaceans.
3 Develop novel and ethical research technologies and approaches to efficiently and effectively deliver information on Australian and Southern Ocean cetaceans to inform conservation and management decisions
In 2021/22 we presented ten papers on the conservation and management of whales to the Scientific Committee of the IWC. We also promoted Australia's agenda in this forum through leadership roles and participation is discussions related to setting catch limits, whale stock assessment and modelling, the Revised Management Procedure, Aboriginal subsistence whaling, abundance estimates, bycatch, ship strike and ecosystem modelling. We continue to lead and facilitate the IWC Southern Ocean Research Partnership, an international consortium coordinating cetacean research around Antarctica. Collectively this consortium published over 40 peer-reviewed scientific papers in 2021/22.
This project also continued to focus on analysing and publishing existing data from past voyages, the collection and publication of long-term acoustic data and the development of new tools and methods to efficiently and safely deliver informative cetacean data.
Thirteen project-related, peer-reviewed papers were published in 2021/22, 10 were presented to the IWC or CCAMLR and a further 15 manuscripts are being finalised or have already been submitted for publication.
Three moored acoustic recorders were successfully retrieved and one moored acoustic recorder deployed.
Through 2021/22 this project continued to drive innovation.
•In collaboration with engineers from Imperial College London and the Swiss Materials Science and Technology Labs there has been significant progress in developing of a drone-based platform to biopsy and tag whales from RSV Nuyina.
•Through the Department of Industry's Business Research and Innovation Initiative challenge, an AAD/NOPSEMA partnership proposed and guided the development of new visual/infra-red systems to automate whale detection and data collation/transmission technology.
•In collaborations with Murdoch University, Queensland University of Technology, James Cook University and CSIRO there was continued development of new statistical and technical methods to support the support the use of long-range UAVs to assess and monitor cetacean populations in the Southern Ocean.
Project Summary of the Season 2022/23
The project has three principal objectives:
1 Conduct targeted research to inform and support Australia's policy, conservation and management objectives within the International Whaling Commission and other international fora.
2 Describe the post-exploitation status, health, population dynamics, foraging ecology, environmental linkages, and threatening processes for Australian and Southern Ocean cetaceans.
3 Develop novel and ethical research technologies and approaches to efficiently and effectively deliver information on Australian and Southern Ocean cetaceans to inform conservation and management decisions
In 2022/23, 19 project-related, peer-reviewed papers were published and a further 19 papers were written specifically to drive Australia's scientific engagement in IWC and CCAMLR. These papers focused on the conservation and management of whales but some also promoted Australia's agenda in guiding leadership, budget and communication issues. The delegation also contributed to decisions related to setting catch limits, stock assessments, Aboriginal subsistence whaling, bycatch, ship strike and ecosystem modelling. We also continued to lead and facilitate the IWC Southern Ocean Research Partnership, an international consortium coordinating cetacean research around Antarctica. Collectively this consortium published over 43 peer-reviewed scientific papers in 2022/23.
In 2022/23 one stand-alone moored acoustic recorder (MAR) and two recorders integrated into a KOMBI mooring were recovered from deepwater deployment in Antarctic waters in 2022. Two stand-alone MARs were deployed in early 2023 at long-term recording sites on the South Kerguelen Plateau and off Casey station.
Through 2022/23 this project continued to drive innovation.
•With engineers from Swiss Materials Science and Technology Labs (EMPA) there has continued progress and a new project established to further develop a drone-based platform to biopsy and tag whales from RSV Nuyina.
•Through the Department of Industry's Business Research and Innovation Initiative challenge, an AAD/NOPSEMA partnership proposed and guided the development of new visual/infra-red systems to automate whale detection and data collation/transmission technology.
•In collaborations with Murdoch University, Queensland University of Technology, James Cook University and CSIRO there was continued development of new statistical and technical methods to support the support the use of long-range UAVs to assess and monitor cetacean populations in the Southern Ocean.
Category 1: Peer-reviewed literature
Aulich M.G., McCauley R.D., Miller B.S., Samaran F., Saunders B.J., Erbe C. (2022) Seasonal Distribution of the Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in Antarctic and Australian Waters Based on Passive Acoustics, Frontiers in Marine Science 9. 864153; [Ref: 16470]
Sahri A., Jak C., Herwata-Putra M.I., Murk A.J., Andrews-Goff V., Double M.C., van Lammeren R.J. (2022) Telemetry-based home range and habitat modelling reveals that the majority of areas important for pygmy blue whales are currently unprotected, Biological Conservation 272. 109594; [Ref: 16482]
Warwick-Evans V., Kelly N., Dalla Rosa L., Friedlaender A., Hinke J.T., Kim J.H., Kokubun N., Santora J.A., Secchi E.R., Seyboth E., Trathan P.N. (2022) Using seabird and whale distribution models to estimate spatial consumption of krill to inform fishery management, Ecosphere 13(6). e4083; [Ref: 16500]
Miller B.S., Calderan S., Leaper R., Miller E.J., Bell E., Double M.C. (2021) Source level of Antarctic blue and fin whale sounds recorded on sonobuoys deployed in deep-ocean off Antarctica, Frontiers in Marine Science .; [Ref: 16535]
Weithoff G., Bell E.M. (2022) Complex Trophic Interactions in an Acidophilic Microbial Community, Microorganisms .; [Ref: 16548]
Smith A.J.R., Ratnarajah L., Holmes T.M., Wuttig K., Townsend A.T., Westwood K., Cox M., Bell E., Nicol S., Lannuzel D. (2021) Circumpolar Deep Water and Shelf Sediments Support Late Summer Microbial Iron Remineralization, Global Biochemical Cycles 35(11). p.e2020GB006921; [Ref: 16549]
Modest M., Irivine L., Andrews-Goff V., Gough W., Johnston D. (2021) First description of migratory behavior of humpback whales from an Antarctic feeding ground to a tropical calving ground, Animal Biotelemetry .; [Ref: 16556]
Thums M., Ferreira L.C., Jenner C., Jenner M., Harris D., Davenport A., Andrews-Goff V., Double M., Moller L., Attard C.R.M., Bilgmann K., Thomson P.G., McCauley R. (2022) Pygmy blue whale movement, distribution and important areas in the Eastern Indian Ocean, Global Ecology and Conservation 35. e02054; [Ref: 16558]
Goetz K.T., Childerhouse S.J., Paton D., Ogle M., van der Linde K., Double M.C., Andrews-Goff V. (2021) First satellite-tracked movements of pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) in New Zealand waters, Marine Mammal Science .; [Ref: 16559]
Reisinger R.R., Friedlaender A.S., Zerbini A.N., Palacios D.M., Andrews-Goff V., Double M.C. (2021) Combining regional habitat selection models for large-scale prediction: circumpolar habitat selection of Southern Ocean humpback whales, Remote Sensing .; [Ref: 16560]
Thums M., Ferreira L.C., Jenner C., Jenner M., Harris D., Andrews-Goff V., Double M.C. (2021) Understanding pygmy blue whale movement and distribution off north Western Australia, Journal of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) .; [Ref: 16561]
Smith A.J.R., Nelson T., Ratnarajah L., Genovese C., Westwood K., Holmes T.M., Corkill M., Townsend A.T., Bell E., Wuttig K., Lannuzel D. (2022) Identifying potential sources of iron-binding ligands in coastal Antarctic environments and the wider Southern Ocean, Frontiers of Marine Science 9. 948772; [Ref: 16599]
Andrews-Goff V., Bell E.M., Miller B.S., Wotherspoon S.J., Double M.C. (2022) Satellite tag derived data from two Antarctic blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia) tagged in the east Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean, Biodiversity Data Journal 10. e94228; [Ref: 16653]
Erbe C., Dahne M., Gordon J., Herata H., Houser D.S., Miller B. (2019) Managing the Effects of Noise From Ship Traffic, Seismic Surveying and Construction on Marine Mammals in Antarctica, Frontiers in Marine Science .; [Ref: 16665]
Raoult V., Pirotta V., Gaston T.F., Norman B., Reynolds S., Smith T.M., Double M., How J., Hayward M. (2022) Widespread exposure of marine parks, whales, and whale sharks to shipping, Marine and Freshwater Research .; [Ref: 16676]
Carroll E.L., Riekkola L., Andrews-Goff V., Baker C.S., Constantine R., Cole R., Goetz K., Harcourt R., Lundquist D., Meyer C., Ogle M., O’Rorke R., Patenaude N., Russ R., Stuck E., van der Reis A.L., Zerbini A.N., Childerhouse S. (2022) New Zealand southern right whale (Eubalaena australis; Tohora no Aotearoa) behavioural phenology, demographic composition, and habitat use in Port Ross, Auckland Islands over three decades: 1998–2021, Polar Biology 45. 1441–1458; [Ref: 16690]
Miller B.S., Madhusudhana S., Aulich M.G., Kelly N. (2022) Deep learning algorithm outperforms experienced human observer at detection of blue whale D-calls: a double-observer analysis, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation 9. 104-116; [Ref: 16692]
Pallin L., Bierlich K.C., Durban J., Fearnbach H., Savenko O., Baker C.S., Bell E., Double M.C., de la Mare W., Goldbogen J., Johnston D., Kellar N., Nichols R., Nowacek D., Read A.J., Steel D., Friedlaender A. (2022) Demography of an ice-obligate mysticete in a region of rapid environmental change, Royal Society Open Science 9(11). 220724; [Ref: 16696]
Calderan S.V., Leaper R., Andrews-Goff V., Miller B.S., Olson P.A., Reyes Reyes M.V., Bell E.M., Double M.C. (2023) Surfacing rates, swim speeds, and patterns of movement of Antarctic blue whales, Frontiers in Marine Science 10. 1087967; [Ref: 16709]
Henderson A.F., Hindell M.A., Wotherspoon S.J., Biuw M., Lea M-A. , Kelly N., Lowther A.D. (2023) Assessing the viability of estimating baleen whale abundance from tourist vessels, Frontiers in Marine Science 10. 1048869; [Ref: 16762]
Aulich M.G., Miller B.S., Samaran F., McCauley R.D., Saunders B.J., Erbe C. (2023) Diel patterns of fin whale 20 Hz acoustic presence in Eastern Antarctic waters, Royal Society Open Science 10(4). 220499; [Ref: 16779]
Braulik G.T., Taylor B.L., Minton G., Notarbartolo Di Sciara G., Collins T., Rojas-Bracho L., Crespo E.A., Ponnampalam L.S., Double M.C, Reeves R.R. (2023) Red-list status and extinction risk of the world's whales, dolphins, and porpoises, Conservation Biology 37. e14090; [Ref: 16897]
Ferreira L.C., Thums M., Whiting S., Meekan M., Andrews-Goff V., Attard C.R.M., Bilgmann K., Davenport A., Double M., Falchi F., Guinea M., Hickey S.M., Jenner C., M. , Loewenthal G., McFarlane G., Möller L.M., Norman B., Peel L., Pendoley K., Radford B., Reynolds S., Rossendell J., Tucker A., Waayers D., Whittock P., Wilson P., Fossette S. (2023) Exposure of marine megafauna to cumulative anthropogenic threats in north-west Australia, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 11. 1229803; [Ref: 17029]
Andrews-Goff V., Gales N., Childerhouse S.J., Laverick S.M., Polanowski A.M., Double M.C. (2023) Australia's east coast humpback whales: Satellite tag-derived movements on breeding grounds, feeding grounds and along the northern and southern migration, Biodiversity Data Journal 11. e114729; [Ref: 17030]
Hodgson A.J., Kelly N., Peel D. (2023) Drone images afford more detections of marine wildlife than real-time observers during simultaneous large-scale surveys, PeerJ 11. e16186; [Ref: 17062]
Category 2: International meeting papers
Warwick-Evans V., Kelly N., Dalla Rosa L., Friedlaender A., Hinke J.T., Kim J.H., Kokubun N., Santora J.A., Secchi E.R., Seyboth E., Trathan P.N. (2021) Using seabird and whale distribution models to estimate spatial consumption of Antarctic krill to inform fishery management, CCAMLR Working Group on Ecosystem Monitoring and Management - Virtual Meeting 5 to 9 July 2021 .; [Ref: 16737]