Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters for Marine Species Occurring in the U.S
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MITT Species Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters Technical Report 29 March 2018 NUWC-NPT Technical Report 12,273 29 March 2018 Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters for Marine Species Occurring in the U.S. Navy’s Mariana Islands Training and Testing Study Area Stephanie L. Watwood Jocelyn R. Borcuk NUWC Division Newport Erin M. Oliveira Emily R. Robinson McLaughlin Research Corporation Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Rhode Island Distribution authorized to the Department of Defense and U. S. DoD contractors only; Administrative or Operational Use; 29 March 2018. Other requests for this document shall be referred to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, RI 02841-1708. MITT Species Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters Technical Report 29 March 2018 PREFACE An important element of the Navy’s comprehensive environmental planning is the acoustic effects analysis executed with the Navy Acoustic Effects Model (NAEMO) software. NAEMO was developed to estimate the possible impacts of anthropogenic sound on marine animals, combining established acoustic propagation modeling with data regarding the distribution and abundance of marine species. This report recommends species-typical static depth distributions and group size information for all marine mammal and sea turtle species that occur in the Mariana Islands Training and Testing (MITT) Study Areas that will be modeled using NAEMO. Technical reviewers for this report were Chip Johnson (Command Pacific Fleet), Laura Busch (United States Fleet Forces), Andrew DiMatteo (McLaughlin Research Corporation), Dawn Grebner (Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport), Jennifer Paulk (Naval Air Systems Command), and Tara Moll (Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport). Reviewed and Approved: 29 March 2018 Dennis Tierney Head, Infrastructure Division MITT Species Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters Technical Report 29 March 2018 Form Approved REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB No. 0704-0188 The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704-0188), 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OPM control number. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS. 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED (From – To) 29-03 2018 Technical Report December 2017 – January 2018 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters for Marine Species Occurring in the U.S. Navy’s Mariana Islands Training and Testing Study Area 5b. GRANT NUMBER N/A 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER N/A 6. AUTHOR(S) 5.d PROJECT NUMBER Stephanie L. Watwood and Jocelyn R. Borcuk N/A NUWC Division, Newport 5e. TASK NUMBER Erin M. Oliveira and Emily R. Robinson N/A McLaughlin Research Corporation 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division REPORT NUMBER 1176 Howell Street Newport, RI 02841-1708 TR 12,273 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITOR’S ACRONYM 11. SPONSORING/MONITORING REPORT NUMBER 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Distribution authorized to the Department of Defense and U. S. DoD contractors only; Administrative or Operational Use; 29 March 2018. Other requests for this document shall be referred to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, RI 02841-1708. 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT. An important element of the Navy’s comprehensive environmental planning is the acoustic effects analysis executed with the Navy Acoustic Effects Model (NAEMO) software. NAEMO was developed to estimate the possible impacts of anthropogenic sound on marine animals, combining established acoustic propagation modeling with data regarding the distribution and abundance of marine species. This report recommends species-typical static depth distributions and group size information for all marine mammal and sea turtle species that occur in the Mariana Islands Training and Testing (MITT) Study Area that will be modeled using NAEMO. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Navy Acoustic Effects Model (NAEMO), Acoustic modeling, Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles, Mariana Islands Training and Testing (MITT) 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: U 17. LIMITATION 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON OF ABSTRACT OF Tara E. Moll a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE PAGES U U U 19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (Include area code) SAR 71 (401) 832-8116 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39-1 MITT Species Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters Technical Report 29 March 2018 This page left intentionally blank. MITT Species Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters Technical Report 29 March 2018 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY An important element of the Navy’s comprehensive environmental planning is the acoustic effects analysis executed with the Navy Acoustic Effects Model (NAEMO) software. NAEMO was developed to estimate the possible impacts of anthropogenic sound on marine animals, combining established acoustic propagation modeling with data regarding the distribution and abundance of marine species. This report recommends species-typical static depth distributions and group size information for all marine mammal and sea turtle species that occur in the Mariana Islands Training and Testing (MITT) Study Area that will be modeled using NAEMO. ES-1 Version 1 MITT Species Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters Technical Report 29 March 2018 This page left intentionally blank. ES-2 Version 1 MITT Species Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters Technical Report 29 March 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... ES-1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ............................................................................. ii 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 The Navy Acoustic Effects Model.......................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Data Inputs ............................................................................................................................ 1-1 2 MARINE MAMMAL AND SEA TURTLE DEPTH DISTRIBUTIONS ............................................. 2-1 2.1 Surrogate Species and Study Areas ...................................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Dive Behavior Summaries ................................................. 2-4 2.2.1 Cetaceans .............................................................................................................................. 2-5 2.2.2 Sea Turtles ........................................................................................................................... 2-24 2.3 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 2-29 3 MARINE MAMMAL GROUP SIZE INFORMATION .................................................................. 3-1 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Mariana Islands Training and Testing Study Area Group Sizes ............................................. 3-1 4 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 4-1 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1 Mariana Islands Training and Testing Study Area ...........................................................2-2 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Species Occurring in the Mariana Islands Training and Testing (MITT) Study Area .....................................................................................2-3 2 Percentage of Time at Depth for the Minke Whale1 .......................................................2-5 3 Percentage of Time at Depth for the Bryde’s Whale1,2 ...................................................2-6 4 Percentage of Time at Depth for the Blue Whale1 ..........................................................2-7 5 Percentage of Time at Depth for the Fin Whale1 ............................................................2-9 6 Percentage of Time at Depth for the Humpback Whale on Breeding Grounds1........... 2-10 i Version 1 MITT Species Dive Distribution and Group Size Parameters Technical Report 29 March 2018 LIST OF TABLES (Cont’d) Table Page 7 Percentage of Time at Depth for the Short-Finned Pilot Whale1,2 ................................ 2-11 8 Percentage of Time at Depth for the Risso’s Dolphin1,2 ................................................ 2-12 9 Percentage of Time at Depth for Fish-Eating