SOCAL 2011-2012 Aerial Surveys
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Performed and submitted for the U.S. Navy's Southern California Range Complex 2012 Annual Monitoring Report AERIAL SURVEYS CONDUCTED IN THE SOCAL OPAREA FROM 01 AUGUST 2011 TO 31 JULY 2012 Photo by B. Würsig, taken under NMFS permit 14451 Prepared for Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest (NAVFAC SW), EV5 Environmental, San Diego, CA, 92132 Contract # N62470-10-D-3011 Prepared by HDR Inc. San Diego, California 1 August 2012 Performed and submitted for the U.S. Navy's Southern California Range Complex 2012 Annual Monitoring Report Citation for this report is as follows: Smultea, M.A., C. Bacon, T.F. Norris, and D. Steckler. 2012. Aerial surveys conducted in the SOCAL OPAREA from 01 August 2011 to 31 July 2012. Prepared for Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, HI. Submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest (NAVFAC SW), EV5 Environmental, San Diego, 92132 under Contract No. N62470-10-D-3011 issued to HDR, Inc., San Diego, CA. Submitted August 2012. Cover Photo: Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), photographed with a telephoto lens from the Partenavia fixed-wing aircraft during a winter 2012 SOCAL aerial monitoring survey. Photo by B. Würsig under NMFS permit 14451. Performed and submitted for the U.S. Navy's Southern California Range Complex 2012 Annual Monitoring Report Aerial Surveys Conducted from 01 August 2011 to 31 July 2012 Final Technical Report Table of Contents ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 VISUAL SURVEY ........................................................................................................................ 1 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................... 1 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................... 3 a. Effort and Sightings ........................................................................................................ 3 b. Photography/Videography ............................................................................................. 5 c. Summary of Behavioral Analyses ................................................................................... 6 ACOUSTIC-VISUAL BEHAVIOR STUDY ................................................................................... 6 METHODS ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Equipment and Personnel Configuration in the Aircraft ................................................. 7 Equipment .......................................................................................................................... 8 Field Methods ..................................................................................................................... 8 Sonobuoy-Acoustic System ................................................................................................ 9 DIFAR Processing .............................................................................................................. 10 Post-Processing................................................................................................................... 11 Integration of Acoustic and Visual Data and Post-Processing ......................................... 11 Mysticetus Updates ........................................................................................................... 12 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Real-Time Acoustic Bearings and Localizations .............................................................. 13 Post-Processing Results ..................................................................................................... 13 Baleen Whale Sounds Detected ........................................................................................ 13 Dolphin Sounds Detected ................................................................................................. 14 Non-Focal Species ............................................................................................................. 14 Anthropogenic Noise ........................................................................................................ 14 Case Studies—Selected Focal Groups ............................................................................... 15 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................................. 17 Visual-Acoustic Behavior .................................................................................................. 17 Hardware and Software Integration ................................................................................. 19 Localization Results .......................................................................................................... 20 Fin Whale Counter-Calling .............................................................................................. 20 Gray Whales ....................................................................................................................... 21 PRE-FLIGHT AND IN-FLIGHT COMMUNICATIONS ............................................................. 22 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... 22 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 23 SOCAL OPAREA i Performed and submitted for the U.S. Navy's Southern California Range Complex 2012 Annual Monitoring Report Aerial Surveys Conducted from 01 August 2011 to 31 July 2012 Final Technical Report Appendices APPENDIX A: PHOTOGRAPHS ............................................................................................. A-1 Photo 1. Two northern right whale dolphin mother/calf pairs photographed 3 February 2012 by J. Black under NMFS permit 14451. Note the stark difference in body coloration of the gray calves next to the darker adults. .............................................. A-1 Photo 2. Bottlenose dolphin mother and calf (bottom) and additional adult (top) photographed 30 January 2012 by M. Smultea under NMFS permit 14451. ........................ A-2 Photo 3. Two gray whales photographed 2 February 2012 by B. Würsig under NMFS permit 14451. .......................................................................................................................... A-3 Photo 4. Risso’s dolphins photographed 2 February 2012 by B. Würsig under NMFS permit 14451. .......................................................................................................................... A-3 Photo 5. Two Dall’s porpoises photographed 2 February 2012 by J. Black under NMFS permit 14451. .......................................................................................................................... A-4 Photo 6. Two gray whales photographed 14 March 2012 by D. Steckler under NMFS permit 14451. .......................................................................................................................... A-5 Photo 7. Risso’s dolphins mixed with two bottlenose dolphins (lower center, dorsal fin visible at surface) photographed 13 March 2012 by D. Steckler under NMFS permit 14451. ...................................................................................................................................... A-5 Photo 8. Long-beaked common dolphin mother/calf pair photographed 13 March 2012 by D. Steckler under NMFS permit 14451. The thick white line color behind the mother’s rostrum is an underwater exhalation. .................................................................. A-6 Photo 9. Fin whale photographed 28 March 2012 by D. Steckler under National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) permit 14451. Note white right jaw indicative of this species. .................................................................................................................................. A-7 Photo 10. Risso’s dolphins photographed 31 March 2012 by M. Smultea under NMFS permit 14451. .......................................................................................................................... A-8 Photo 11. Long-beaked common dolphins photographed 31 March 2012 by M. Smultea under NMFS permit 14451. Photos of a dolphin’s head fully exposed above the water surface like this are usually required to confirm species among the short- and long-beaked common dolphins. ................................................................................... A-9 Photo 12. A pair of gray whales subsurface swimming with long-beaked common dolphins (upper right hand corner) photographed 30 March 2012 by M. Smultea under NMFS permit 14451. ................................................................................................... A-10 Photo 13. A group of short-beaked common dolphin surface-active traveling photographed 31 March 2012 by M. Smultea under NMFS permit 14451. ........................... A-11 APPENDIX B: FIGURES ........................................................................................................