Bernd Würsig

An affine invariant curve matching method for photo-identification of marine mammals

Individual identification of marine mammals is of interest to marine biologists. This paper aims at the recognition of the edges associated with marine mammals whose pictures are taken under affine transformations. The introduced affine curve matching method uses the area of mismatch between a query and a database curve. This area is obtained by optimally aligning the curves based on the minimum affine distance involving their distinguishing points. The method is applied to databases of sea lions, gray whales, and dolphins, and its performance is compared with two other affine curve matching methods. The results show that the introduced curve matching approach outperforms the other approaches and thus further reduces the search time for identifying an individual. The developed method is of general purpose as it can be used for other affine curve matching applications.

Abundance, behavior, and movement patterns of western gray whales in relation to a 3-D seismic survey, Northeast Sakhalin Island, Russia

A geophysical seismic survey was conducted in the summer of 2001 off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia. The area of seismic exploration was immediately adjacent to the Piltun feeding grounds of the endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus). This study investigates relative abundance, behavior, and movement patterns of gray whales in relation to occurrence and proximity to the seismic survey by employing scan sampling, focal follow, and theodolite tracking methodologies. These data were analyzed in relation to temporal, environmental, and seismic related variables to evaluate potential disturbance reactions of gray whales to the seismic survey. The relative numbers of whales and pods recorded from five shore-based stations were not significantly different during periods when seismic surveys were occurring compared to periods when no seismic surveys were occurring and to the post-seismic period. Univariate analyses indicated no significant statistical correlation between seismic survey variables and any of the eleven movement and behavior variables. Multiple regression analyses indicated that, after accounting for temporal and environmental variables, 6 of 11 movement and behavior variables (linearity, acceleration, mean direction, blows per surfacing, and surface-dive blow rate) were not significantly associated with seismic survey variables, and 5 of 11 variables (leg speed, reorientation rate, distance-from-shore, blow interval, and dive time) were significantly associated with seismic survey variables. In summary, after accounting for environmental variables, no correlation was found between seismic survey variables and the linearity of whale movements, changes in whale swimming speed between theodolite fixes, mean direction of whale movement, mean number of whale exhalations per minute at the surface, mean time at the surface, and mean number of exhalations per minute during a whales surface-to-dive cycle. In contrast, at higher received sound energy exposure levels, whales traveled faster, changed directions of movement less, were recorded further from shore, and stayed under water longer between respirations.

Dusky dolphins influence prey accessibility for seabirds in Admiralty Bay, New Zealand

Abstract Although seabirds frequently aggregate with feeding delphinids, the benefits to seabirds of feeding with dolphins have been rarely reported. We examined how dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) influenced prey accessibility for seabirds in Admiralty Bay, New Zealand. Interactions of dusky dolphins and seabirds were characterized during 335 feeding bouts of dusky dolphins (52 video-recorded underwater). Dolphins increased prey accessibility for seabirds because they swam under the bottom half of prey balls for 59% of passes that were within 2 m of the prey ball. During feeding bouts by dolphins, 51% of prey balls ascended, whereas only 13% descended. Dolphins also influenced prey mobility; only 24% of stationary feeding bouts became mobile after dolphins began feeding, and 17% subsequently became stationary again. Significantly more Australasian gannets (Morus serrator) were near mobile than stationary prey balls after feeding, but not during feeding bouts. This suggests that feeding gannets increase mobility of prey balls, but that feeding dolphins counteract this effect. Seabirds also used dusky dolphins to locate prey. Numbers of gannets, shearwaters (Puffinus), and gulls (Larus) increased during the first 2 min of dolphin feeding, even when other seabirds were not present. Gannets fed with dolphins for 40% of gannet feeding observations and shearwaters fed with dolphins for 24% of shearwater feeding observations.

Visual accommodation and active pursuit of prey underwater in a plunge-diving bird: the Australasian gannet

Australasian gannets (Morus serrator), like many other seabird species, locate pelagic prey from the air and perform rapid plunge dives for their capture. Prey are captured underwater either in the momentum (M) phase of the dive while descending through the water column, or the wing flapping (WF) phase while moving, using the wings for propulsion. Detection of prey from the air is clearly visually guided, but it remains unknown whether plunge diving birds also use vision in the underwater phase of the dive. Here we address the question of whether gannets are capable of visually accommodating in the transition from aerial to aquatic vision, and analyse underwater video footage for evidence that gannets use vision in the aquatic phases of hunting. Photokeratometry and infrared video photorefraction revealed that, immediately upon submergence of the head, gannet eyes accommodate and overcome the loss of greater than 45 D (dioptres) of corneal refractive power which occurs in the transition between air and water. Analyses of underwater video showed the highest prey capture rates during WF phase when gannets actively pursue individual fish, a behaviour that very likely involves visual guidance, following the transition after the plunge dives M phase. This is to our knowledge the first demonstration of the capacity for visual accommodation underwater in a plunge diving bird while capturing submerged prey detected from the air.

A western gray whale mitigation and monitoring program for a 3-D seismic survey, Sakhalin Island, Russia.

The introduction of anthropogenic sounds into the marine environment can impact some marine mammals. Impacts can be greatly reduced if appropriate mitigation measures and monitoring are implemented. This paper concerns such measures undertaken by Exxon Neftegas Limited, as operator of the Sakhalin-1 Consortium, during the Odoptu 3-D seismic survey conducted during 17 August’ September 2001. The key environmental issue was protection of the critically endangered western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), which feeds in summer and fall primarily in the Piltun feeding area off northeast Sakhalin Island. Existing mitigation and monitoring practices for seismic surveys in other jurisdictions were evaluated to identify best practices for reducing impacts on feeding activity by western gray whales. Two buffer zones were established to protect whales from physical injury or undue disturbance during feeding. A 1 km buffer protected all whales from exposure to levels of sound energy potentially capable of producing physical injury. A 4’ km buffer was established to avoid displacing western gray whales from feeding areas. Trained Marine Mammal Observers (MMOs) on the seismic ship Nordic Explorer had the authority to shut down the air guns if whales were sighted within these buffers.Additional mitigation measures were also incorporated: Temporal mitigation was provided by rescheduling the program from June–August to August–September to avoid interference with spring arrival of migrating gray whales. The survey area was reduced by 19% to avoid certain waters <20 m deep where feeding whales concentrated and where seismic acquisition was a lower priority. The number of air guns and total volume of the air guns were reduced by about half (from 28 to 14 air guns and from 3,390 in3 to 1,640 in3) relative to initial plans. ‘Ramp-up’(=‘soft-start’ procedures were implemented.Monitoring activities were conducted as needed to implement some mitigation measures, and to assess residual impacts. Aerial and vessel-based surveys determined the distribution of whales before, during and after the seismic survey. Daily aerial reconnaissance helped verify whale-free areas and select the sequence of seismic lines to be surveyed. A scout vessel with MMOs aboard was positioned 4 km shoreward of the active seismic vessel to provide better visual coverage of the 4’ km buffer and to help define the inshore edge of the 4’ km buffer. A second scout vessel remained near the seismic vessel. Shore-based observers determined whale numbers, distribution, and behavior during and after the seismic survey. Acoustic monitoring documented received sound levels near and in the main whale feeding area.Statistical analyses of aerial survey data indicated that about 5’0 gray whales moved away from waters near (inshore of) the seismic survey during seismic operations. They shifted into the core gray whale feeding area farther south, and the proportion of gray whales observed feeding did not change over the study period.Five shutdowns of the air guns were invoked for gray whales seen within or near the buffer. A previously unknown gray whale feeding area (the Offshore feeding area) was discovered south and offshore from the nearshore Piltun feeding area. The Offshore area has subsequently been shown to be used by feeding gray whales during several years when no anthropogenic activity occurred near the Piltun feeding area.Shore-based counts indicated that whales continued to feed inshore of the Odoptu block throughout the seismic survey, with no significant correlation between gray whale abundance and seismic activity. Average values of most behavioral parameters were similar to those without seismic surveys. Univariate analysis showed no correlation between seismic sound levels and any behavioral parameter. Multiple regression analyses indicated that, after allowance for environmental covariates, 5 of 11 behavioral parameters were statistically correlated with estimated seismic survey-related variables; 6 of 11 behavioral parameters were not statistically correlated with seismic survey-related variables. Behavioral parameters that were correlated with seismic variables were transient and within the range of variation attributable to environmental effects.Acoustic monitoring determined that the 4’ km buffer zone, in conjunction with reduction of the air gun array to 14 guns and 1,640 in3, was effective in limiting sound exposure. Within the Piltun feeding area, these mitigation measures were designed to insure that western gray whales were not exposed to received levels exceeding the 163 dB re 1 μPa (rms) threshold.This was among the most complex and intensive mitigation programs ever conducted for any marine mammal. It provided valuable new information about underwater sounds and gray whale responses during a nearshore seismic program that will be useful in planning future work. Overall, the efforts in 2001 were successful in reducing impacts to levels tolerable by western gray whales. Research in 2002’005 suggested no biologically significant or population-level impacts of the 2001 seismic survey.

Visual Displays for Communication in Cetaceans

Social mammals use facial signals and body postures, often highlighted by coloration, for well-developed visual communication. African forest monkeys (Cercopithecus sp.), for example, display an impressive repertoire of stereotyped head movements and facial expressions for courtship, aggression, fear, and appeasement (Kingdon, 1980). Thomson’s gazelles (Gazella thornsoni) rapidly alert conspecifics to danger by a tense, upright stance, directed gaze, and often a twitching of their edge-receptive flank, which is marked with an eye-catching black longitudinal stripe (Estes, 1967; Walther, 1969). This sequence of subtle body movements produces a “Morse code” of visual information about the potential threat of an approaching predator. To the untrained observer only obvious alarm signals and warnings, such as running and stotting (a stiff-legged, bounding gait), are appreciable (Caro, 1988). It recently has been found that some mammalian species display different warning signals for different predators (Seyfarth et al., 1980; Sherman, 1985), and this extra sophistication beyond mere communication of danger is probably widespread among animals.

Behavioural Responses of Dusky Dolphin Groups (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) to Tour Vessels off Kaikoura, New Zealand

Background Commercial viewing and swimming with dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) near Kaikoura, New Zealand began in the late 1980s and researchers have previously described changes in vocalisation, aerial behaviour, and group spacing in the presence of vessels. This study was conducted to assess the current effects that tourism has on the activity budget of dusky dolphins to provide wildlife managers with information for current decision-making and facilitate development of quantitative criteria for management of this industry in the future. Methodology/Principal Findings First-order time discrete Markov chain models were used to assess changes in the behavioural state of dusky dolphin pods targeted by tour vessels. Log-linear analysis was conducted on behavioural state transitions to determine whether the likelihood of dolphins moving from one behavioural state to another changed based on natural and anthropogenic factors. The best-fitting model determined by Akaike Information Criteria values included season, time of day, and vessel presence within 300 m. Interactions with vessels reduced the proportion of time dolphins spent resting in spring and summer and increased time spent milling in all seasons except autumn. Dolphins spent more time socialising in spring and summer, when conception occurs and calves are born, and the proportion of time spent resting was highest in summer. Resting decreased and traveling increased in the afternoon. Conclusions/Significance Responses to tour vessel traffic are similar to those described for dusky dolphins elsewhere. Disturbance linked to vessels may interrupt social interactions, carry energetic costs, or otherwise affect individual fitness. Research is needed to determine if increased milling is a result of acoustic masking of communication due to vessel noise, and to establish levels at which changes to behavioural budgets of dusky dolphins are likely to cause long-term harm. Threshold values from these studies would allow managers to set appropriate operational conditions based on quantifiable criteria.

High-Speed Vessel Noises in West Hong Kong Waters and Their Contributions Relative to Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis)

The waters of West Hong Kong are home to a population of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) that use a variety of sounds to communicate. This area is also dominated by intense vessel traffic that is believed to be behaviorally and acoustically disruptive to dolphins. While behavioral changes have been documented, acoustic disturbance has yet to be shown. We compared the relative sound contributions of various high-speed vessels to nearby ambient noise and dolphin social sounds. Ambient noise levels were also compared between areas of high and low traffic. We found large differences in sound pressure levels between high traffic and no traffic areas, suggesting that vessels are the main contributors to these discrepancies. Vessel sounds were well within the audible range of dolphins, with sounds from 315–45,000 Hz. Additionally, vessel sounds at distances ≥100 m exceeded those of dolphin sounds at closer distances. Our results reaffirm earlier studies that vessels have large sound contributions to dolphin habitats, and we suspect that they may be inducing masking effects of dolphin sounds at close distances. Further research on dolphin behavior and acoustics in relation to vessels is needed to clarify impacts.

Dusky Dolphins: Flexibility in Foraging and Social Strategies

Dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) exhibit fission–fusion dynamics as individuals join and split from groups of two to several thousand individuals. During the past three decades, our studies of dusky dolphins in three distinct marine systems have revealed how habitat type, predation risk, and prey availability influence foraging and social strategies. In the large Argentine bay of Golfo San Jose, fission–fusion dynamics are driven by large group formation during the day to coordinate prey-herding behaviors on southern anchovy (Engraulis anchoita) and nighttime resting in small groups near shore for predator avoidance. In the small New Zealand bay of Admiralty Bay, fission–fusion dynamics are also driven by daytime coordinated prey-herding strategies on small schooling fishes, but changes in group size are relatively muted and there is little predation risk. In the open, deep-water environment off Kaikoura, New Zealand, dusky dolphins rest and socialize near shore during the day, moving offshore at night to feed on the deep scattering layer (DSL). Changes in group size are also relatively muted off Kaikoura, and large groups serve to reduce predation risk. Comparisons between the three sites reveal a pattern of increasing group size with increasing openness of habitat. Response to predation pressure includes formation of large groups or formation of small, inconspicuous groups near shore. In the bay systems, fission–fusion dynamics are driven by coordinated foraging strategies on patchily distributed schooling fishes. In the open ocean system, DSL prey resources are more reliable, and fission–fusion dynamics are instead driven by strategies to obtain mates and avoid predators. Despite these differences, dusky dolphins exhibit polygynandry in all three systems. The presence of a single social-sexual system in spite of variability in fission–fusion dynamics has also been documented in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). In both societies, flexibility in social and foraging strategies enables individuals to respond to changing socioecological conditions. However, traits of the marine environment such as few physical refuges, low cost of transport, the need to herd mobile food resources into tight prey balls, and separation of oxygen and prey may be factors contributing toward differences in fission–fusion dynamics between dolphins and primates.

Humpback Dolphin (Genus Sousa) Behavioural Responses to Human Activities.

Humpback dolphins (genus Sousa) use shallow, near-shore waters throughout their range. This coastal distribution makes them vulnerable to recreational and commercial disturbances, especially near heavily populated and industrialized areas. Most research focusing on Sousa and human activities has emphasized direct impacts and threats, involving injury and death, with relatively little focus on indirect effects on dolphins, such as changes in behaviour that may lead to deleterious effects. Understanding behaviour is important in resolving human-wildlife conflict and is an important component of conservation. This chapter gives an overview of animal behavioural responses to human activity with examples from diverse taxa; reviews the scientific literature on behavioural responses of humpback dolphins to human activity throughout their range, including marine vessel traffic, dolphin tourism, cetacean-fishery interactions, noise pollution, and habitat alteration; and highlights information and data gaps for future humpback dolphin research to better inform behaviour-based management decisions that contribute to conservation efforts.