U.S. Navy Marine Species Monitoring Program

This is a work product for the purpose of technical review. All data and information in this presentation is preliminary and should not be cited or reproduced without first contacting the presenter. All field work is conducted under appropriate permits under ESA/MMPA.

Please visit the US Navy Marine Species Monitoring Program web portal for additional information on this project – www.navymarinespeciesmonitoring.us

US Navy Marine Species Monitoring Program – Annual Technical Review Meeting , CA 14-17 March 2016 Satellite Tagging Sea Lion Males in , Assessing Proportion of Time Hauled-Out on Navy Installations and Marine Habitat Utilization

Bob DeLong, Sharon Melin, Jeff Harris and Pat Gearin, MML/AFSC/NMFS Steve Jeffries, Dyanna Lambourn and Josh Oliver, WDF&W INTRODUCTION

• Navy requires estimates of number of animals utilizing facilities and marine areas used for training and testing for permitting of activities under MMPA • Satellite tags can provide • Accurate estimate of haul-out time • Spatial distribution of travel and foraging behavior • Depth and duration of foraging dives • Adult male sea lions have traditionally been captured on floating traps • Adult males can be handled with a combination of squeeze cage and anesthesia METHODS

• Floats that serve as trap bases deployed at Naval Installations at Everett and Bremerton, Puget Sound, Washington • Everett float not used by sea lions in 2014 & 2015, subsequently removed • Bremerton float used by sea lions shortly following deployment in autumn 2014; then trap walls were erected • Captures not conducted until mid-December 2014 because of late molt in sea lion males • Satellite tag deployments: 16 (December 2014 & January 2015) 14 (December 2015 & February 2016)

RESULTS

• Satellite tag deployments: 16 (December 2014 & January 2015) 14 (December 2015 & February 2016) • 12 of 16 tags recovered in 2015; location and limited dive data obtained from remaining 4 tags • 13 of 14 tags active on animals in March 2016, with animals in Puget Sound, British Columbia and Wash & OR coasts and Columbia River • Preliminary analysis of hauling behavior of animals from early 2015 indicate about 9% of time animals are around Bremerton they are hauled out • Animals distributed to British Columbia, Columbia River and Puget Sound in 2 – 3 months following instrumentation Satellite Locations by Month December 2014 – May 2015

• 16 Adult Males • Captured at Bremerton December or January • Best quality location each day for each animal, n=1157 locations

• Three main areas of activity • Puget Sound • Vancouver Island, Canada • Columbia River

Individual Proportion Time Sea Lions Hauled Out, 2015 1.0 0.9

0.8 0.7 56 0.6 100 30 83 54 155 72 0.5 84 94 Other 0.4 Bangor 72 100 0.3 Manchester 139 Bremerton Proportion time out hauled Proportion 0.2 0.1 0.0

ID Average Proportion Time Hauled Out

0.60 n = 12 animals

0.50

0.40

0.30

0.20

0.10 Average proportion time hauled out hauled time proportion Average

0.00 Total time hauled Bremerton Manchester Bangor Other Everett out 0.24

0.22 0.20 Bremerton 0.18 Average Hourly Proportion Time 0.16 0.14 Hauled Out - Naval Facilities 0.12 0.10 0.08 0.06 0.04 Proportion time out hauled time Proportion 0.02 0.00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Local time (h) Proportion of time hauled out has late morning to 0.24 mid- day peak at all facilities followed by decrease in

0.22 Manchester 0.20 afternoon 0.18 0.16 0.14 0.12 0.10 0.08 0.06 0.04 Proportion time out hauled time Proportion 0.02 0.00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Local time (h) 0.24

0.22 0.20 Bangor 0.18 0.16 0.14 0.12 0.10 0.08 0.06 0.04

Proportion time out hauled time Proportion 0.02 0.00 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Local time (h) Puget Sound Locations by Month, 2014-2015 Deployments

• Tagged December and January • Moved away from Bremerton in response to completion of chum salmon run • Alternate haulout locations, NBK-Bangor, Manchester, Nisqually, Commencement Bay • No instrumented animals at Naval Station Everett British Columbia, Canada Locations by Month

• Clusters around Vancouver Island correspond to herring spawning locations • Herring stage in dense aggregations in advance of spawning in March and April Outer WA and Columbia River Locations by Month

• January 2015 was beginning of a record high Eulachon run that spawns in the lower river and tributaries, January –March. • This is followed by Spring Chinook that peak in April. • All sea lions depart the river by late May Satellite Telemetry Data for Animal 141429 • Up to 3 locations per day but some days no locations • Locations have error associated with them – adjusted in future analysis

• ~5 dives per hour sampled and transmitted in satellite message

• Percent time hauled out (dry) per hour

• All satellite data can be linked for integrated analysis Time-Depth Dive Data from Recovered Instrument – Animal 141429

• Time-depth dive data only available if instrument recovered

• Provides individual behavior for Hauled out every minute of entire deployment Swimming

• Time spent hauled out, 301 m swimming, feeding can be 141429 - full dive record determined Feeding 1/22/15-4/16/15

• Can be joined with locations from satellite

141429 - 6 hour record 1010 hrs -1610 hrs 3/23/15 Satellite Telemetry Locations 2015-2016

• 6 deployments at Bremerton, 12/22/15 8 at Manchester 2/19/16

• Locations filtered to best location/day

• 2 animals mostly in B.C. Canada, 4 animals in Columbia River, 8 in Puget Sound or Strait of Juan de Fuca

Estimating number of animals hauling out at Bremerton Navy Facility • 20 censuses were conducted between 12 December 2014 and 12 February 2015 (Mean of 19 animals were hauled out) • Proportion of time that 16 animals spent hauled-out at Bremerton during that time is = 0.0875 (from satellite tags) (remainder of time travel, foraging, or hauled-out elsewhere) • 19 / 0.0875 = 217 animals utilizing Bremerton for the two month period 12 December 2014 to 12 February 2015 Acknowledgements

• Veterinary Anesthesia: Drs. Jeanne Ross, Julia Burco, Betsy Lutmerding, Lasanna Lahner for 76 successful anesthesias accomplished on some not-so-delightful winter days. • USN Pacific Fleet for funding of the Interagency Agreement and Andrea Balla-Holden our Navy POC for project administration • Port Operations and Security Departments at , Bremerton and Naval Station Everett for handling routine requests for access to facilities