Acoustic Studies of Marine Mammals During Seven Years of Combined Visual and Acoustic Line-Transect Surveys for Cetaceans in the Eastern Central Pacific Ocean

摘要

The Southwest Fisheries Science Center has been conducting shipboard linetransect surveys of marine mammals since the 1970s. These research cruises have evolved into multi-disciplinary studies incorporating visual observations to determine distribution and abundance of cetaceans and seabirds, and oceanographic sampling to examine physical and biological aspects of the marine ecosystem. In recent years, data collection during these surveys has expanded further to include passive acoustic monitoring of cetaceans. This report summarizes the cetacean acoustic data collected during seven years of shipboard surveys in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. The STAR 2000 (STenella Abundance Research) project was the third in a series of three research cruises designed to study cetacean populations that have been impacted by the tuna purse-seine fishery in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP).