This week I will have the privilege of giving two presentations on the SOCAL-10 Behavioral Response Study in the Washington DC area. Both events are open to the public and the Smithsonian lecture will be available to watch live online. I have copied an abstract for the talks below the dates and times.
The first presentation will be in Silver Spring, MD on Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 12 pm ET at the NOAA Central Library, Bldg. 3, 2nd Floor
The second will be Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 2 pm ET at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History – Executive Conference Room. This event will also available via live video stream at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/smithsonian-national-museum-of-natural-history#events
Abstract: SOCAL-10 was a scientific research project conducted in Aug-Sept 2010 in important biological areas near southern California. It extended previous studies in the Bahamas (2007-08) and Mediterranean Sea (2009) of whether and how marine mammals change their behavior when they hear different sounds. Each of these studies have integrated behavioral response studies to controlled sound exposures with ongoing research on diving, foraging, and social behavior. The overall objective was to provide a better basic understanding of marine mammal behavior, while providing direct scientific information for the Navy and regulatory agencies to estimate risk and minimize the impact of human sounds, particularly military sonar. SOCAL-10 was the first in a five-year dedicated effort to study a variety of marine mammal species in areas around the southern California coast and Channel Islands.
SOCAL-10 involved an interdisciplinary collaboration of experts in marine mammal biology, behavior, and communication, as well as underwater acousticians and specialized field researchers. During a preliminary scouting phase and two research legs on different research vessels, SOCAL-10 observed, photographed, and/or tracked in detail, individuals of 21 different marine mammal species. Sixty-two tags (of six different varieties) were successfully secured on 44 individual animals of nine different marine mammal species, including several which had never been studied using tag technologies previously. Scientists also conducted 28 controlled sound exposure experiments; in these experiments, animals were monitored with suction cup acoustic sensors, remote listening devices and specialized observers with high-powered binoculars. Sounds were then played to the animals under specific protocols and protective measures (to ensure animals were not harmed) and changes in behavior were measured.
Preliminary results based primarily on clearly observable behavior in the field and from initial data assessment indicate variable responses, depending on species, type of sound, and behavioral state during the experiments. Some observations in certain conditions suggest avoidance responses, while in other cases subjects seemed to not respond, at least overtly. Additional analysis and interpretation is underway of the nearly 400 hours of tag data from the project, as well as thousands of marine mammal observations, photographs, tissue samples, and acoustic measurements.
House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment will hold
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