Introduction & Objectives
The Atlantic Behavioral Response Study (Atlantic-BRS) builds on previous Navy-supported research and monitoring efforts to measure the behavioral responses of deep-diving odontocetes to several types of mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS). This research program was initiated in 2017 off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and has evolved through a series of phases focusing on different sonar sources of direct relevance to U.S. Navy operations and regulatory compliance. It is strategically staged in an area where extensive previous monitoring efforts have documented the occurrence and baseline behavior of several key species using various well-established sampling methods (e.g., surveys, photo ID, animal-borne tags, and passive acoustics). The research team, led by the Duke University Marine Laboratory and Southall Environmental Associates, has demonstrated the ability to consistently find and tag large numbers of both goose-beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), a species of high Navy interest in terms of potential MFAS effects, and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). The research site is positioned relatively near (<100 nm), but not within, core areas of operational MFAS sources used during training and testing operations of SQS-53C-equipped combat vessels based out of Norfolk, VA.</p>
The Atlantic-BRS program has produced dozens of scientific papers and technical presentations to technical, Navy, and regulatory audiences around the world. It is generating novel data and technological innovations that have expanded basic biological understanding of these key species. It has also substantially increased limited direct information on their behavioral responses to Navy tactical sonar, producing many known exposure-response measurement that are used directly in environmental compliance assessments for ongoing Navy training and testing operations. This project has developed novel approaches to expand the temporal and spatial scales over which potential responses are measured from previous BRS efforts by strategically integrating satellite-linked time-depth recording tags (SLTDRs) with short-term, high-resolution acoustic digital archival tags (DTAGs) in experimental conditions where key aspects of exposure context are known. Concentrated field effort has yielded the largest sample size of tagged goose-beaked whale behavior and behavioral responses to MFAS exposures in controlled exposure experiments (CEEs) obtained to date anywhere in the world. This large sample size is also enabling key insights into ecological and environmentally important contextual variables of behavioral responses observed, or lack thereof.
The primary objective of the Atlantic-BRS is to conduct controlled exposure experiments (CEEs) with tagged beaked and pilot whales exposed to Navy MFAS signals. Given the high degree of success with goose-beaked whales and their very high priority to the Navy, this species been the priority species, and in recent years the sole experimental focus, for this program. The primary objective is to conduct CEEs with goose-beaked whale using tactical sonars from operational Navy vessels conducting ongoing training operations. This has been accomplished through close coordination between the research team and colleagues from U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Experimental simulations of such sources are used when Navy vessels are unavailable. Earlier phases of the program focused on experimental trials with pulsed active sonar (PAS) signals (~1-2s duration), which were published in a recent manuscript including the most expansive assessment of beaked whale responses to sonar to date (Southall et al., 2026). The collective efforts in the Atlantic BRS project have resulted in >100 exposure events during 23 CEE trials with both simulated and operational sources. Recent efforts in the current phase of the project have transitioned to CEE trials using identical field approaches, but with continuous active sonar (CAS) MFAS signals. The CAS signals have similar frequency content to the PAS signals but are of much longer (~50s) duration and are continuously repeated. The first-ever experiment with U.S. Navy CAS signals and any marine mammal, as well as the first ever CEE with any form of CAS and goose-beaked whales was conducted with three tagged individuals in 2024. This was followed by another successful CAS CEE from an operational vessel with seven tagged beaked whales as well as the first simulated CAS CEE from an experimental source in 2025 with an additional four tagged individuals.
The data obtained from these field efforts are providing an unprecedented level of direct, experimental, and comparative insights into the behavioral effects of an increasing diversity of operational navy tactical sonars on goose-beaked whales, a species of very high priority to the Navy.
Technical Approach
Deliberate measures have been taken to maintain consistency with the methods employed in previous BRS projects so that results can be integrated across sites. The experimental design for the Atlantic-BRS was derived from methods employed in the Navy-funded (ONR, LMR programs) southern California behavioral response study (SOCAL-BRS), with adaptations related to the novel use of both SLTDRs and DTAGs. Identical experimental methods are employed for operational and experimentally simulated MFAS exposures, as well as control sequences that allow evaluation of the potential effects of field operations. Such consistency allows comparisons to be drawn across studies to support meta-analyses and ongoing integration of results into exposure-response probabilistic functions for application in Navy environmental compliance assessments.
Data collection on movement and diving behavior of focal whales occurs before, during, and after exposure. A key aspect of the multi-scale experimental design is the ability to obtain data remotely with SLTDRs for long periods before and after exposures. This is supplemented by additional data collection using fine-scale tags (DTAGs) and direct visual observation in the days before, during, and after CEEs. Pre-exposure baseline behavioral data collection involves data from tag sensors (days or weeks for SLTDRs; hours for DTAGs), supplemented by focal follows of tagged animals by observers in small boats and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). Sampling from these sources is maintained during MFAS or control exposure sequences (30 and 60 min total exposure respectively), and post exposure periods (hours-days).
The Atlantic-BRS team has developed effective approaches to conducting field research with goose-beaked whales off Cape Hatteras. These approaches include close planning with Navy colleagues in advance and up to the occurrence of MFAS CEEs. Sonar transmissions for operational MFAS CEEs with PAS and CAS sources use identical operational protocols. This includes full-power transmissions used in tactical training with a specified, consistent waveform and duration type with ships transiting in a direct course at 8 kt for 60 minutes. Starting positions and vessel course are determined using in situ propagation modeling given the position of a focal animal using models developed and provided by the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), These models are updated daily using HYCOM environmental data. The course of the vessel results in an escalation in received level for focal individuals based on the ship's movement directed generally (but not directly) toward the whales. Given the relatively large number of tagged individuals exposed during CEEs (in some cases exceeding 10 individuals per event), there is considerable variation in range and received level among focal whales. Target received levels for focal beaked whales in MFAS PAS experiments have been reliably achieved from 120-140 dB RMS. Target levels for CAS exposures have been identified and verified at target individuals based on noise metrics that account for the total energy in these much longer signals (e.g., sound exposure level (SEL)). The objective is to match exposure SEL for focal animals in CAS CEEs with those used successfully in PAS CEEs. This experimental design allows for positioning of sonar sources to result in target received levels at focal individuals that are also being monitored directly using other methods (focal follow, photo ID), in a deliberately matched design that will enable the comparison of responses for these high priority species to PAS and CAS signals. This is an issue of scientific interest as well as direct regulatory implications for the Navy given the expanding use of CAS and similar spectral content but very different temporal structure of these operational sonar signals.
Analyses focus on how tagged whales respond to MFAS exposure in terms of avoidance; changes in behavioral state; and changes in social grouping. These analyses have benefited from methods developed in other BRS studies and the MOCHA and DOUBLE MOCHA projects supported by ONR. Short- and longer-term consequences of disturbance are evaluated separately, but the multi-scale nature offers a unique opportunity to explore how these methods may complement one another and how high-resolution, short-term response data may inform methods used for longer-term monitoring.
Progress & Results
The overall Atlantic-BRS research project commenced in 2017 and is ongoing in the third phase of operations, with field work conducted in summer and early autumn. A total of 121 tags have been deployed on goose-beaked whales and 46 tags have been deployed on pilot whales. Twenty-six conventional MFAS CEEs have been conducted, ten of which involved operational US Navy vessels with 53-C MFAS (8 PAS; 2 CAS) sources. The Navy vessels involved with these field trials include the USS DONALD COOK, USS MACFAUL, USS NITZE, USS RAMAGE, USS COLE, USS LABOON, USS DELBERT BLACK, USS FARRAGUT (twice), and USS THOMAS HUDNER. An additional 10 CEE trials involved simulated MFAS sources, one involved simulated CAS, and five more were control sequences. In total, these 26 CEEs have resulted in a total of 119 unique tagged animal exposure events for goose-beaked whales and 62 unique events for pilot whales.
Analysis of this large data set is complex, extensive, and ongoing. Existing analytical approaches are being applied, together with novel integration on a variety of temporal and spatial scales. In addition, a new paradigm of spatial analysis has been developed to address positional error associated from the SLTDRs. More than a dozen peer-reviewed papers have been directly produced from this research program, including key methodological and technical developments and aspects of baseline behavior and behavioral response. A dozen more have included data from this program through collaborations with other Navy-funded researchers. An expansive paper inclduing the responses of over 70 goose-beaked whales to simulated MFAS was published in Ecosphere (Southall et al., 2026). A complementary paper contrasting potential responses to operational PAS will be finalized in 2026. This will be followed by a systematic comparison and integration of these two sets of results. Results arising from this project have been presented at scientific meetings worldwide including Effects of Sound on Marine Mammals, Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, OceanNoise, Society of Marine Mammalogy, Biologging, Acoustical Society of America, Discovery of Sound in the Sea, and other public, educational, and recent regulatory agency briefings.
Project Videos
Project Information
Timeline
2017-ongoing
Location
Cape Hatteras study area
Controlled exposure experiments, DTAGs, satellite tags
Conceptual Framework
Principal Investigators
Dr. Brandon Southall, Southall Environmental Associates
Adjunct Professor, UC Santa Cruz and Duke University
Dr. Andy Read, Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment
Duke University Marine Laboratory
Dr. Douglas Nowacek, Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment & Pratt School of Engineering
Duke University Marine Laboratory
Point of Contacts
Program/Project Manager
Joel T. Bell
NAVFAC Atlantic - Environmental Conservation, Marine Resources Section
Deputy Program Manager
Jackie Bort
NAVFAC Atlantic
Environmental Conservation
Marine Resources Section
Data, Reports, & Publications
Data
+Tagging Data
Technical Reports
+
Photo-Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area 2025 Annual Progress Report.
Waples, D.M., K.W. Urian, and A.J. Read.. 2026.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
During 2025 fieldwork supporting the Atlantic Behavioral Response Study (BRS Southall et al. 2026) and other related research, the study team collected more than 12,900 digital images within the Cape Hatteras study area. The team used these images to confirm species, identify individual animals, compile sighting histories, and conduct follow-up monitoring of satellite-tagged animals. The team obtained photographs of six species, but most were from goose-beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), the focal species of the Atlantic BRS.
Atlantic Behavioral Response Study (Atlantic-BRS) 2025 Annual Progress Report.
Southall, B.L., W. Cioffi, R. Schick, C. Harris, A. Harshbarger, A. Kristan, D. Nowacek, A.J. Read, Z.T. Swaim, D.M. Waples, and D.L. Webster.. 2026.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
This annual progress report covers the 2025 field season and subsequent analyses. It provides a synthesis of experimental methods; field efforts; tagging results; and exposure-response results for two CEEs, including the second operational CAS CEE conducted with the United States Ship (USS) Donald Cook and the first-ever high-power experimental source CEE simulating CAS operations. It also includes a detailed analysis of the Kinéis satellite data receiving system relative to legacy ARGOS systems. Finally, it includes a synthesis of peer-reviewed papers that have been or are in the process of being published.
Photo-Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area - Annual Progress Report: 2024 Progress Report.
Waples and Read. 2025.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
During 2024 fieldwork supporting the Atlantic Behavioral Response Study (BRS) (Southall et al. 2025) and other related research, the study team collected more than 7,900 digital images within the Cape Hatteras study area. The team used these images to confirm species, identify individual animals, compile sighting histories and conduct follow-up monitoring of satellite tagged animals.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
The Atlantic Behavioral Response Study (Atlantic-BRS) was conceived, designed, adapted, and conducted by a multi-institutional collaboration of experienced scientists working together with the United States (U.S.) Navy.
Photo Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area: 2023 Annual Progress Report.
Waples and Read. 2024.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
During fieldwork supporting the Atlantic Behavioral Response Study (BRS) in 2023 (Southall et al. 2024) and other related research, more than 17,000 digital images were collected within the Cape Hatteras study area. These images were used to confirm species, identify individual animals, compile sighting histories, and conduct follow-up monitoring of satellite-tagged animals. Digital photographs were taken with Canon or Nikon digital single lens reflex cameras equipped with 100- to 400-millimeter zoom lenses in 24-bit color at a resolution of 6016 × 4016 pixels and saved in .jpg format. Photographs were obtained from five species, with most of them being Ziphius cavirostris, which will be referred to as ‘Ziphius’ or Zc, the primary focal species of BRS field efforts.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
The Atlantic Behavioral Response Study (Atlantic-BRS) was conceived, designed, adapted, and conducted by an experienced multi-institutional collaboration of scientists working with the United States (U.S.) Navy. This program has built on historical and ongoing Navy-funded studies under their Marine Species Monitoring Program, as well as the U.S. Navy’s Living Marine Resources (LMR) program and Office of Naval Research (ONR). It has evolved through several years and research objectives to evaluate and quantify the behavioral responses of important and protected marine mammals to different kinds of Navy active sonar.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
The Atlantic-BRS project (supported by U.S. Fleet Forces Command under the Navy’s marine species monitoring program) was conceived, designed, and initiated through a collaboration of researchers involved in several of these previous studies and in previous baseline marine mammal monitoring of key species including (Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) off Cape Hatteras, NC.
Photo-Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area: 2022 Annual Progress Report.
Waples, D.M., and A.J. Read. 2023.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Photo-Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area: 2023 Annual Progress Report
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
The Atlantic-BRS project (supported by U.S. Fleet Forces Command under the Navy’s marine species monitoring program) was conceived, designed, and initiated through a collaboration of researchers involved in several of these previous studies and in previous baseline marine mammal monitoring of key species including (Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) off Cape Hatteras, NC.
Photo-Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area: 2021 Annual Progress Report.
Waples, D.M., and A.J. Read. 2022.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Photo-Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area: 2022 Annual Progress Report
Photo-Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area: 2020 Annual Progress Report.
Waples, D.M. and A.J. Read. 2021.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Photo-Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area: 2020 Annual Progress Report
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
The Atlantic-BRS project (supported by U.S. Fleet Forces Command under the Navy’s marine species monitoring program) was conceived, designed, and initiated through a collaboration of researchers involved in several of these previous studies and in previous baseline marine mammal monitoring of key species including (Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) off Cape Hatteras, NC.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
The Atlantic-BRS project (supported by U.S. Fleet Forces Command under the Navy’s marine species monitoring program) was conceived, designed, and initiated through a collaboration of researchers involved in several of these previous studies and in previous baseline marine mammal monitoring of key species including (Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) off Cape Hatteras, NC.
Photo-Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area: 2019 Annual Progress Report.
Waples, D.M. and A.J. Read. 2020.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Photo-Identification Analyses in the Cape Hatteras Study Area: 2019 Annual Progress Report
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
The Atlantic-BRS project (supported by U.S. Fleet Forces Command under the Navy’s marine species monitoring program) was conceived, designed, and initiated through a collaboration of researchers involved in several of these previous studies and in previous baseline marine mammal monitoring of key species including (Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) off Cape Hatteras, NC.
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
The Atlantic-BRS project (supported by U.S. Fleet Forces Command under the Navy’s marine species monitoring program) was conceived, designed, and initiated through a collaboration of researchers involved in several of these previous studies and in previous baseline marine mammal monitoring of key species including (Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) off Cape Hatteras, NC.
Publications
+
Behavioral responses of goose-beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) to simulated military sonar.
Southall, Brandon L., R. S. Schick, W. R. Cioffi, S. L. DeRuiter, H. J. Foley, C. M. Harris, A. E. Harshbarger, J. E. Joseph, T. Margolina, D. P. Nowacek, N. J. Quick, Z. T. Swaim, L. Thomas, D. M. Waples, D. L. Webster, J. H. Wisse, A. J. Read. 2026.
Ecosphere
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Estimating received level in behavioral response studies through the use of ancillary data.
Schick, R.S., W.R. Cioffi, H.J. Foley, J. Joseph, N.A. Kaney, T. Margolina, Z.T. Swaim, L. Zheng, B.L. Southall. 2024.
More details
Collapse details
Trade-offs in telemetry tag programming for deep-diving cetaceans: data longevity, resolution, and continuity.
Cioffi, W.R., N.J. Quick, Z.T. Swaim, H.J. Foley, D.M. Waples, D.L. Webster, R.W. Baird, B.L. Southall, D.P. Nowacek, and A.J. Read. 2023.
Animal Biotelemetry
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
We analyze trade-offs in the longevity, resolution, and continuity of data records from non-recoverable satellite-linked tags on deep-diving Ziphius cavirostris in the context of a behavioral response study of acute noise exposure.
Time-discretization approximation enriches continuous-time discrete-space models for animal movement.
Hewitt, J., A.E. Gelfand, and R.S. Schick. 2023.
Annals of Applied Statistics
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Continuous time discrete state models are a valuable tool for explaining animal movement. However, data collection to fit such models over a specified window of time can be misaligned with the actual realization of the movement process. This necessitates approximate model fitting, at present, through approximate imputation distributions (AIDs). Here, we propose a direct time-discretization approximation to the likelihood.
Continuous-time modelling of behavioural responses in animal movement.
Michelot, T., R. Glennie, L. Thomas, N. Quick, C.M. Harris. 2022.
arXiv
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
We describe how the model can be embedded into a state-space modelling framework to account for measurement error. We present inferential methods for model fitting, model checking, and uncertainty quantification (including on the response model). We apply this approach to two behavioural response study data sets on beaked whales: a satellite track, and high-resolution depth data.
Kernel density estimation of conditional distributions to detect responses in satellite tag data.
Hewitt, J., A.E. Gelfand, N.J. Quick, W.R. Cioffi, B.L. Southall, S.L. DeRuiter, and R.S. Schick. 2022.
Animal Biotelemetry
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
To identify possible behavioral responses in dive data collected from satellite-linked time–depth recorders, and to inform the selection and parameters for subsequent individual and population-level response analyses, we propose to use kernel density estimates of conditional distributions for quantitative comparison of pre- and post-exposure behavior.
Varying-Coefficient Stochastic Differential Equations with Applications in Ecology.
Michelot, T., Glennie, R., Harris, C. et al. 2021.
Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
We propose a flexible model for SDEs with time-varying dynamics where the parameters of the process are nonparametric functions of covariates, similar to generalized additive models. Combining the SDE and nonparametric approaches allows for the SDE to capture more detailed, non-stationary, features of the data-generating process.
Adult male Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) engage in prolonged bouts of synchronous diving.
Cioffi, W.R., N.J. Quick, H.J. Foley, D.M. Waples, Z.T. Swaim, J.M. Shearer, D.L. Webster, A.S. Friedlaender, B.L. Southall, R.W. Baird, D.P. Nowacek, and A.J. Read. 2021.
Marine Mammal Science
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
We tested this prediction by evaluating the diving behavior of animals within social groups off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, considering diving synchrony a proxy for group membership.
Continuous-Time Discrete-State Modeling for Deep Whale Dives.
Hewitt, J., Schick, R.S. & Gelfand, A.E.. 2021.
Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Understanding unexposed/baseline behavior of marine mammals is required to assess the effects of increasing levels of anthropogenic noise exposure in the marine environment. However, quantifying variation in the baseline behavior of whales is challenging due to the fact that they spend much of their time at depth, and therefore, their diving behavior is not directly observable. Data collection employs tags as measurement devices to record vertical movement. We focus here on satellite tags, which have the advantage of collection over a time window of weeks.
Residency and movement patterns of Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius Cavirostris) off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA.
Foley, H.J., K. Pacifici, R.W. Baird, D.L. Webster, Z.T. Swaim, and A.J. Read. 2021.
Marine Ecology Progress
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Here we describe the spatial ecology of 20 Cuvier’s beaked whales equipped with satellite-linked tags off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA, between 2014 and 2017.
Extreme diving in mammals: first estimates of behavioural aerobic dive limits in Cuvier's beaked whales.
Quick, Nicola J., William R. Cioffi, Jeanne M. Shearer, Andreas Fahlman, Andrew J. Read. 2020.
Journal of Experimental Biology
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
We analysed 3680 dives from 23 satellite-linked tags deployed on Cuvier's beaked whales to assess the relationship between long duration dives and inter-deep dive intervals and to estimate aerobic dive limit (ADL).
Mind the gap – optimizing satellite tag settings for time series analysis of foraging dives in Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris).
Quick, N.J., Cioffi, W.R., Shearer, J., and Read, A. 2019.
Animal Biotelemetry
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Studies of deep-diving beaked whales using Argos satellite-linked location-depth tags frequently return data with large gaps in the diving record. We document the steps taken to eliminate these data gaps and collect weeks of continuous time series data for a behavioral response study that took place in 2017.
Diving behaviour of Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Shearer, J.M., N.J. Quick, W.R. Cioffi, R.W. Baird, D.L. Webster, H.J. Foley, Z.T. Swaim, D.M. Waples, J.T. Bell, and A.J. Read. 2019.
Royal Society
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Cuvier's beaked whales exhibit exceptionally long and deep foraging dives. The species is little studied due to their deep-water, offshore distribution and limited time spent at the surface.
Accounting for Positional Uncertainty When Modeling Received Levels for Tagged Cetaceans Exposed to Sonar.
Schick, R.S., Bowers, M., DeRuiter, S., Friedlaender, A., Joseph, J., Margolina, T., Nowacek, D.P., and Southall, B.L.. 2019.
Aquatic Mammals
More details
Collapse details
Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Exposure to anthropogenic sound can have a range four dimensions and to statistically describe uncerof negative behavioral and physical effects on tainty within volumes of water space where animals marine species and is of increasing ecological and were predicted to occur during exposure periods. regulatory concern. In particular, the response of By properly accounting for positional error in this marine mammals, and notably the family of cryp- study, it is clear that previous studies using single tic deep-diving beaked whales, to military sonar is median RL estimates drastically underestimate the a timely and complex issue.
Presentations
+Associated Projects & Blog Posts
Blog Posts
+
Another CEE Trial – and Gervais’ beaked whales!
Posted August 10, 2026
First CEE Trial of 2026 – and False Killer Whales
Posted July 23, 2026
Controlled Exposure Experiment Trial with Simulated CAS Signals
Posted October 1, 2025
Atlantic BRS - successful CEE trial with the USS Donald Cook
Posted July 22, 2025
Atlantic BRS - field work update
Posted July 16, 2025
Atlantic BRS 2025 - Old Friends & Baby Beaked Whales
Posted June 26, 2025
Cuvier's from Cape to Canyon
Posted September 16, 2022
Atlantic BRS – 2022 CEE with the USS Farragut
Posted August 26, 2022
Atlantic BRS - First CEE of 2021
Posted August 9, 2021
Atlantic Behavioral Response Study kicks off 2021 field season
Posted July 13, 2021
Atlantic BRS - First CEE of 2020
Posted July 17, 2020
Atlantic BRS - Multi-scale CEE Success!
Posted August 15, 2019
Atlantic BRS 2018 Field Work is Underway
Posted May 18, 2018
Atlantic BRS 2017!
Posted May 22, 2017
Banner day tagging odontocetes at Hatteras!
Posted June 1, 2016
