PROJECTS
Introduction & Objectives
Little was known about the movements and occurrence of southern resident killer whales (SRKW) in the winter prior to this study. Remotely deployed satellite telemetry tags deployed on SRKW and passive acoustic recorders deployed in areas thought to be used frequently by the whales were used to assess the seasonal occurrence of SRKW. While the primary focus of the research was to detect endangered southern resident killer whales during the winter and spring months, the recorders also provided near year-round monitoring of other sound producing cetaceans and anthropogenic sound sources. These data were used to provide information to better understand SRKW seasonal occurrence in relation to the U.S. Navy’s Northwest Training Range Complex (NWTRC) in the Pacific Northwest.
Technical Approach
SPOT5 satellite telemetry tags were deployed on SRKW in Puget Sound and coastal waters of Washington and Oregon between 2014 and 2016; however further SRKW tagging halted indefinitely by NMFS in 2016. Individual-ID photos and samples of prey remains, feces, mucus, and regurgitation were collected. All locations for satellite tagged SRKW were compiled and duration-of-occurrence and state-space models were developed to identify areas of high use and travel corridors.
In addition to satellite tags, autonomous passive acoustic recorders called Ecological Acoustic Recorders (EARs) were deployed off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. Recordings from the duration of the project as well as archived recordings from previous years were analyzed for presence of SRKW. These were used to create annual predictive maps and to evaluate the probability of detecting whales. The acoustic data were also analyzed for the presence of other species of vocalizing whales and dolphins, sonar, and explosives.
Progress & Results
Between 2012 and 2016, satellite tags were deployed on eight SRKW. The predictions from the updated space-state movement model indicate that in the winters of 2013 and 2015, tagged SRKWs spent the highest density of time located off the Colombia River and near Westport. Other areas with relatively high occurrence were off the northern coasts of Washington and California.
Acoustic data were obtained from 6-13 recorders deployed off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California from 2011-2016 resulting in 11,718 monitoring days. SRKW were acoustically detected 246 times on recorders deployed in the coastal and slope areas. Nine of the 21 monitoring sites were located in the Northwest Training Range Complex. SRKW were detected at four of the nine sites with 67 detections occurring over 4,314 days.
Northern Resident Killer Whales were the most detected killer whale ecotype followed by transients and SRKW, with a peak in spring for all ecotypes. Most detections of SRKW were at nearshore sites with the exception of increased detections at Cape Flattery Offshore site during late spring to early summer. Mid-Frequency Active (MFA) sonar and explosive sounds were both detected in the recordings. The majority of MFA events were detected at mid-shelf and offshore sites between February and March. The majority of explosive sounds were detected at mid-shelf and offshore sites and were more common in summer months.
This project was merged into the "Salmonid and Southern Resident Killer Whale Distribution in the Pacific Northwest" project in 2025.
Project Information
Timeline
2014-2022
Location
Washington (Northwest Training Range Complex, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport Range Complex)
Species
Passive acoustic monitoring, model development, visual survey, satellite tagging, analysis of archived data
Performing Organizations
Principal Investigators
Dr. Bradley Hanson
NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Point of Contacts
Program Manager
Andrea Balla-Holden
Pacific Fleet Environmental Readiness Division
Data, Reports, & Publications
Technical Reports
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More details
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Passive acoustic monitoring has been conducted along the U.S. west coast, from Central California to Cape Flattery, to monitor movements of endangered Southern resident killer whales (SRKW). Since 2008, four to seventeen Ecological Acoustic Recorders (EARs) have been deployed, depending on the year and available funding. The rate of successful data acquisition has varied each year due to fishery interactions and equipment failures. EARs were programmed to record on a 5–10% duty cycle depending on the year of deployment, resulting in 30–90 seconds of continuous recording every 300–600 seconds with a sampling rate of 25 kHz.
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
We integrated opportunistic visual sightings, and the output from an updated state-space movement model fit to the locations from several satellite-tagged Southern Resident killer whales to fill in the detection gaps in the acoustic detections of this population in the coastal waters of the U.S. over a 4-year period when satellite tags were not deployed
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
Remotely deployed telemetry tags were used to assess the movements and occurrence of the whales in the winter, and passive acoustic recorders deployed in areas thought to be frequently used by the whales, were used to assess their seasonal occurrence in these areas. These data will be used to provide information to better understand their seasonal occ
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
In this analysis, we integrate limited acoustic detections over a 7-year period with two other data sources: opportunistic visual sightings, and output from a state-space movement model fit to the locations from a single satellite-tagged individual. We illustrate a case study with an application to endangered Southern Resident killer whales, where the focus is understanding the coastal habitat use of this population in winter and spring months. Predictions from our state-space movement model suggest in winter of 2014, SRKWs spent the highest density of time located off the Columbia River and near Westport. Other areas with concentrated effort included off the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, and near the Mad and Eel rivers in Northern California.
Publications
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Passive acoustic monitoring reveals spatiotemporal segregation of two fish-eating killer whale Orcinus orca populations in proposed critical habitat.
Emmons, C.K., M.B. Hanson, and M.O. Lammers. 2021.
Endangered Species Research
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
We used passive acoustic monitoring at 15 sites along the coast of Washington State, USA, to assess habitat use patterns of 2 sympatric populations of fish-eating killer whales Orcinus orca: northern residents (NRKW) and southern residents (SRKW).
Using hierarchical models to estimate stock-specific and seasonal variation in ocean distribution, survivorship, and aggregate abundance of fall run Chinook salmon.
Shelton, A.O., W.H. Satterthwaite, E.J. Ward, B.E. Feist, B. Burke. 2019.
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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Type:Ocean:Region:Species:Methods:
We construct the first coastwide state-space model for fall Chinook salmon tagged fish released from California to British Columbia between 1977 and 1990 to estimate seasonal ocean distribution along the west coast of North America.
Presentations
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Projects
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