Addressing challenges in studies of behavioral responses of whales to noise

Cato, D.; Dunlop, R.; Noad, M.; McCauley, Robert; Kniest, E.; Paton, D.; Kavanagh, A.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-2981-8_17

Access Status

Fulltext not available

Authors

Cato, D.

Dunlop, R.

Noad, M.

McCauley, Robert

Kniest, E.

Paton, D.

Kavanagh, A.

Date

2016

Type

Book Chapter

Metadata

Show full item record

Citation

Cato, D. and Dunlop, R. and Noad, M. and McCauley, R. and Kniest, E. and Paton, D. and Kavanagh, A. 2016. Addressing challenges in studies of behavioral responses of whales to noise, in Popper, A. and Hawkins, A. (ed), The effects of noise on aquatic life, pp. 145-152. New York: SpringerLink.

Source Title

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology

DOI

10.1007/978-1-4939-2981-8_17

School

Centre for Marine Science and Technology

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14050

Collection

Curtin Research Publications

Abstract

Studying the behavioral response of whales to noise presents numerous challenges. In addition to the characteristics of the noise exposure, many factors may affect the response and these must be measured and accounted for in the analysis. An adequate sample size that includes matching controls is crucial if meaningful results are to be obtained. Field work is thus complicated, logistically difficult, and expensive. This paper discusses some of the challenges and how they are being met in a large-scale multiplatform project in which humpback whales are exposed to the noise of seismic air guns.