Passive acoustic surveys demonstrate high densities of sperm whales off the mid-Atlantic coast of the USA in winter and spring

Abstract

Oceans are increasingly crowded by anthropogenic activities yet the impact on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) marine life remains largely unquantified. The MAPS (Marine Mammal Acoustic and Spatial Ecology) study of 2019 included passive acoustic and visual vessel surveys over the Mid-Atlantic OCS of the USA to address data gaps in winter/spring for deep-diving cetaceans, including sperm whales. Echolocation clicks were used to derive slant ranges to sperm whales for design- and model-based density estimates. Although more survey effort was realised in the spring, high densities of whales were identified in both winter and spring (10.46 and 8.89 per 1000 km² respectively). The spring model-based abundance estimate of 1587 whales (CI 946–2663) was considered the most representative figure, in part due to lower coefficients of variation. Modelling suggested that high densities of whales were associated with warm core rings, eddies and edges. As OCS waters provide an important foraging habitat for North Atlantic sperm whales, appropriate mitigation is required to ensure commercial pressures to develop offshore energy do not negatively affect this endangered species.