Introduction & Objectives
Oregon State University (OSU) conducted a multi-year tagging operation in support of the U.S. Navy’s (Navy) marine mammal monitoring in five areas along the U.S. West Coast: (1) the Southern California Range Complex (SOCAL), which is a portion of the HawaiiSouthern California Training and Testing Study Area, (2) the Point Mugu Range Complex (PT MUGU), (3) the Southern California Anti-submarine warfare Offshore Range subarea (SOAR), (4) the Northwest Training and Testing Study Area (NWTT), and (5) Warning Area 237 (W237) within the NWTT. The focus of these studies is to address key science objectives the Navy has committed to complete as part of regulatory requirements promulgated from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In particular, this multi-year project was designed to address the following questions:
1. What are the movement patterns, occurrence, and residence times of blue and fin whales within Navy training and testing areas along the U.S. West Coast as compared to other areas visited by tagged whales outside of Navy training and testing areas?
2. What are the residency time/occupancy patterns of blue whales within NMFS-designated Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) for this species along the U.S. West Coast? (i.e., the areas identified by Calambokidis et al. [2015] and referenced in the Navy’s Letter of Authorization and Environmental Impact Statement)
3. Are there bathymetric, annual oceanographic conditions (e.g., sea surface temperature, frontal zones, etc.), and/or climatic and ocean variations (e.g., global warming, North Pacific Gyre Oscillation [NPGO], Pacific Decadal Oscillation [PDO], El Niño/La Niña events, etc.) that can help explain blue and fin whale affinity for any identified areas of high residency along the U.S. West Coast?
Technical Approach
Three types of Argos (satellite-monitored) tags were used: Location-Only (LO) tags, providing long-term tracking information; Dive-Monitoring (DM) tags, providing intermediate- to long-duration tracking and dive behavior (duration, depth, number of feeding lunges per dive); and pop-off Advanced Dive Behavior (ADB) tags, providing intermediate-duration, fine-scale dive profile information upon tag recovery and Global Positioning System-quality locations.
Progress & Results
Twenty-four blue whales (20 LO tags, 4 ADB tags) and six fin whales (3 LO, 3 ADB) were tagged in 2014. Twenty-two blue whales (18 LO, 4 ADB), and 11 fin whales (9 LO, 2 ADB) were tagged in 2015. Nineteen blue whales (11 LO tags, 8 DM tags) and 14 fin whales (5 LO tags, 9 DM tags) were tagged in 2016. Twenty-seven blue whales (13 LO tags, 14 DM tags) and one fin whale (1 LO tag) were tagged in 2017.
Both blue and fin whales were widespread in their tracked distributions, with locations over the four years extending from the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to very close to the equator for blue whales; and from Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, to the northern coast of Baja California, Mexico, for fin whales. Differences existed between years, however, for both species, in sizes of home ranges (HRs) and core areas (CAs), in latitudinal extent of movements, in total distance traveled, and in whales’ use of Navy training ranges and National Marine Fisheries Service-identified Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) for blue whales. Blue whales were distributed farther north, traveled significantly longer distances, and had significantly larger HRs and CAs in 2014 than in the other three years.
Over a dozen publications and presentations have resulted from this project.
Project Information
Timeline
2014-2019
Location
Southern California
Species
Long-term satellite tracking, biopsy sampling, photo-identification
Performing Organizations
Principal Investigators
Dr. Bruce Mate and Dr. Daniel Palacios
Oregon State University
Sponsor(s) & Funding
FY14 $551k; FY15 $990k;FY16 $937k; FY17 $794k; FY18 $179k
Point of Contacts
Project Manager
Jessica Bredvik
NAVFAC Southwest
Program Manager
Chip Johnson
Pacific Fleet Environmental Readiness Division
Data, Reports, & Publications
Technical Reports
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Baleen Whale Tagging in Support of Marine Mammal Monitoring Across Multiple Navy Training Areas Covering the Years 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.
Mate et al. 2018.
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
OSU conducted a 4-year (2014–2017) tagging and tracking study on eastern North Pacific blue whales and fin whales to determine their movement patterns, occurrence, and residence times within U.S. Navy training and testing areas, as well as NMFS-identified BIAs. Tracking periods ranged from 0.6 to 283.8 d. Blue whale locations ranged from the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to very close to the equator, while fin whales were from Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, to the northern coast of Baja California, Mexico.
Baleen Whale Tagging in Support of Marine Mammal Monitoring Across Multiple Navy Training Areas Covering the Years 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Mate et al. 2017.
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
This report details the results of three years (2014-2016) of tracking data for blue and fin whales (Balaenoptera musculus and B. physalus, respecitvely) tagged in southern California waters, as well as one season of tracking data for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) tagged off the Oregon coast. T
Baleen Whale Tagging in Support of Marine Mammal Monitoring Across Multiple Navy Training Areas.
Mate et al. 2017.
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Blue and fin whale tagging efforts took place off the southern and central coast of California during one 30-day cruise aboard the research vessel (R/V) Pacific Storm. Nineteen tags were deployed on blue whales (11 LO, 8 DM) between July 14 and August 3, 2016.
Baleen (Blue and Fin) Whale Tagging in Southern California in Support of Marine Mammal Monitoring Across Multiple Navy Training Areas.
Mate et al. 2016.
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
A 2-year tagging and tracking study was conducted on eastern North Pacific blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) to determine their movement patterns, occurrence, and residence times within Navy training and testing areas along the U.S. West Coast.
Baleen (Blue and Fin) Whale Tagging in Southern California in Support of Marine Mammal Monitoring Across Multiple Navy Training Areas.
Mate et al. 2016.
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
In 2015 Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute (OSU/MMI) conducted a second year of tagging operations in support of the United States (U.S.) Navy’s marine mammal studies in the offshore waters of the Southern California Range Complex (SOCAL) portion of the Hawaii-Southern California Training and Testing Study Area as well as the existing Northwest Training Range Complex (NWTRC), Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport Range Complex (together known as the Northwest Training and Testing Study Area). The focus of these studies is to address key science objectives the Navy has committed to complete as part of regulatory requirements promulgated from the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Baleen (Blue & Fin) Whale Tagging in Southern California in Support of Marine Mammal Monitoring Across Multiple Navy Training Areas (SOCAL, NWTRC, GOA).
Mate et al. 2015.
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Twenty-four blue whales [20 location-only tags, 4 Advanced Dive Behavior (ADB) tags] and six fin whales (3 locationonly tags, 3 ADB tags) were tagged in August 2014 between Mugu Canyon, west of Malibu, and San Diego. CA .There was a great deal of individual variation in the tracks of both blue and fin whales, with blue whale locations extending from the northern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia to the Costa Rica Dome area off Central America, and those of fin whales extending from southern Oregon to central Baja California
Publications
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An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error.
Irvine, L.M., Winsor, M.H., Follett, T.M., Mate, B.R., Palacios, D.M.. 2020.
Animal Biotelemetry
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Argos satellite telemetry is used globally to track terrestrial and aquatic megafauna, yet the accuracy of this system has been described empirically only for a limited number of species. We used Argos-linked archival tags with Fastloc GPS deployed on free-ranging sperm (Physeter macrocephalus), blue (Balaenoptera musculus), and fin (B. physalus) whales to derive empirical estimates of Argos location errors for these species, examine possible behavior-related differences, and test the effect of incorporating species-specific error parameters on performance of a commonly used movement model.
Scales of blue and fin whale feeding behavior off California, USA, with implications for prey patchiness.
Irvine, L. M., D. M. Palacios, B. A. Lagerquist, and B. R. Mate. 2019.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Intermediate-duration archival tags were attached to eight blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus; four females, three males, one of unknown sex), and five fin whales (B. physalus; two females, one male, two of unknown sex) off southern California, USA, in summer 2014 and 2015. Tags logged 1-Hz data from tri-axial accelerometers, magnetometers, and a depth sensor, while acquiring Fastloc GPS locations.
The development of an intermediate-duration tag to characterize the diving behavior of large whales.
Mate, B.R., L.M. Irvine, and D.M. Palacios. 2016.
Ecology and Evolution
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Here, we present a novel configuration of a transdermally attached biologging device called the Advanced Dive Behavior (ADB) tag.
Presentations
+Associated Projects & Blog Posts
Blog Posts
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