Marine mammals in the Rusalca region : Acoustic recordings and visual sightings Kate Stafford University of Washington Funding NSF_AON (2012- onwards) WHOI Arctic Program (2 instruments purchased, travel support cruise 2010) NOAA (I instrument purchased, travel support to cruise 2011) Tom Weingartner and Rebecca Woodgate provided space on moorings

Bering Strait Migratory pathway for Arctic marine mammals that move between the Bering and Beaufort and Chukchi Seas – Bowhead and beluga whales – Walrus, ice seals Used seasonally (summer/fall) by sub-Arctic spp – Fin, Humpback, minke, killer whales, gray whales

Decreased sea ice Decrease in habitat for walrus, polar bears, ice seals, bowheads (?) Increased habitat for sub-Arctic spp Increase in shipping and O&G exploration = increases in ambient noise – Increase in ship strikes of large whales?

Sighting data Cruises with marine mammal observations 2009 (1)* 2010 (1)* 2011 (1) 2012 (2)* * Surveys in Russian EEZ

All Rusalca sightings

All Rusalca sightings by species

Humpback whale sightings

Fin and minke whale sightings

Killer whale sightings

Papers in preparation Occurrence of Subarctic Cetaceans in the Southern Chukchi Sea, – To be submitted to Oceanography ~July 2013 – Synthesizes boat-based visual data from Rusalca, CHAOZ, CSESP; aerial survey-based visual data from ASAMM/COMIDA Occurrence of gray whales in the southern Chukchi Sea

Arctic whales Do not (usually) occur in study area during summer months – not seen by visual surveys Best way to monitor bowhead and beluga whales, bearded and ribbon seals and walrus is Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM)

PAM Good year-round, all weather, 24 h/day Can “hear” further than “see” Different species are readily told apart In addition to Arctic spp, “late” summer whales can be detected Good way to monitor ship passages To date, only US side of Strait has been monitored, ideally the western Strait should be instrumented

Citta et al Arctic

Instruments first deployed August 2009 Redeployed every year since Subsample the data (10 min/hour) We have had issues with battery power so none of the instruments have lasted a full year to date

Species detected Bowhead (Nov-Feb, Apr) Walrus (October – Dec, April-Jun) Bearded seal (year-round) Beluga (Oct-Dec, Apr-May) Ribbon seal (Oct) Fin whales (Aug-Oct) Humpback whales (Aug-Nov) Killer whales (Sep-Oct)

A2W Humpback whale detections

Humpback and bowhead detections A3

Papers in preparation Humpback whales sing north of the Arctic Circle –Acoustic data from Bering and Davis Straits show that humpback whales are singing well into winter near to or north of the Arctic circle –Submittal July 2013 What sound environments do bowhead whales annually encounter in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas? –SOAR synthesis paper that examines bowhead whale migration via PAM –Due to editors June 2013 Acoustic detection of bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas –Master’s thesis chapter –Planned submittal to Arctic September 2013

Future work Go through all data systematically for all species Determine ambient noise levels Continue to occupy A2W and A3 – Instruments will be deployed this year Ideally add a hydrophone to A1 – Monitor autumn/winter bowhead whale migration