Twenty-fiveyearsofmarinemammalresearchinTheBahamas:

Conservationsuccessesandgapsremaining

DianeE.ClaridgeandCharlotteA.Dunn

BahamasMarineMammalResearchOrganisationMarshHarbour,Abaco,Bahamas

SeaMammalResearchUnitUniversityofStAndrews,Scotland,UK

v ConductingresearchinTheBahamassince1991v Fillingkeyknowledgegapsonpopulationandbehaviouralecology ofspeciesintheregionv Someresidentpopulationsareimpactedbyhumanactivitiesv Somepolicychangeshaveoccurred

BahamasMarineMammalResearchOrganisation(BMMRO)

Changingenvironments

v Marinepollution- Bioaccumulationofcontaminants- Entanglement/ingestion

v Increasingvesseltraffic- Increasingnoise- Vesselstrikes

v Habitatloss/alteration- Decreasingprimaryproduction

v Overfishing- Ecosystemchanges

v Climatechange

Sentinelsofmarineecosystemhealth

v Cetaceansarelong-livedwithlowreproductiverates(likehumans)v Processcontaminants/pollutantslikewedov Astoppredators,theyhelpusassesshealthofmarineenvironment

Multi-disciplinaryapproach

Visual&acousticsurveys

Satellitetagging&Photo-ID Biopsysampling

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0

0.2

0.4

MD

S 2

-0.4 -0.2 0 .2 .4 .6

MDS 1

S. GrandBahama

SW Abaco

AUTEC

Eleuthera

Cul deSac Bahamas Blainville'sbeaked whale chemicalmarker signatures

Chemistry Genetics

Suction-cuptagging Foragingbehaviour

1.TrendsinAbaco’sbottlenosedolphinpopulation

Fearnbach etal.2013

v Success: BannedlivecapturesinTheBahamasv SeaofAbacodeclinebeganwhencoastaldevelopmentincreasedv Futureneed:Monitorpopulationtostopdecline

MarshHarbour– SeaofAbaco SandyPoint

v Monitoringresidentpopulations,documentingbirthsanddeaths,overgenerations

1.AddressingFutureNeed–Monitorpopulationtostopdecline($5-10K)

v AnnualsurveysinSeaofAbaco- 2month-longefforts- CollaborationwithNOAAFisheries

v Photo-identification– recognisingindividuals

2.EffectsofNavysonaronKEYlifefunctionsofBlainville’sbeakedwhales

v Populationdisturbedregularlyv ComparisonstoAbacopopulation

- Lowerreproductivesuccess&abundance

v Success: LimitedsonaruseonUSrangesv Futureneed: Quantifypregnancy&growthrates

- Abacostudysiteidealforbaselinestudy

USNavy’sTestingRange

WhalesfeedingNOSONAR

MovedawayWITHSONAR

Claridge2013,Claridgeetal.2015

Nassau

AndrosIsland

2.AddressingFutureNeed– Quantifyingpregnancy&growthratestodetermineimpactsofNavysonaronbeakedwhales($10-30K)

AdultFemales

Pregnantwhale

AISshipdensitydata2014(source:www.marinetraffic.com)

TheBahamas

Dunnetal.2015

3.Spermwhalesandincreasingshippingtraffic

v Femalesandcalveshereyear-roundv Achangingenvironment:

• 4-foldglobalincreaseincommercialshipping• ExpansionofFreeportContainerPort• Proposednewoilrefinery

v MarineTraffic- AISv Futureneed: Assessneedforshippingregulations

inNWProvidenceChannel

?

=proposedlocationsofSoundTrap recorders

Containerport

BMMRO

Proposedoilrefinery

CocoCay

NWProvidenceChannel

Surveygoals:1. Deploy/recover

SoundTraps2. Usetowedhydrophone

&visualteamtolocate&trackspermwhales

3. ProvidefieldexperienceforUBahamasstudents

3.AddressingFutureNeed–Whales&shipssharingNWProvidenceCh.($25-102K)

R/VGarvin

4.Conservationchallenges

v Education&awareness- Disconnectwithpelagicspecies

v Buildcapacity/engagingyouthinscience- WhaleCampandinternships- FieldcourseswithUoftheBahamas/UMiami- Strandingworkshops

v Futureneed: Increasingawareness

MarineMammalEducationalPackage(allenclosedinapostertube):1. Introductorylettertoprovideaguideforusingtheeducational

package.2. ‘MarineMammalsofTheBahamas’poster.3. Powerpoint slidepresentationonmarinemammaldiversity,ona

USBthumbdrive.4. VideooftheabovePowerpoint presentationforschoolswithouta

scienceteachertogivethepresentation;onaUSBthumbdrive.5. “Let’sAsktheScientists”.6. Educationalgames.7. Pre- andpost-presentationevaluationsurveyquestionsandscore

sheets.

4.AddressingFutureNeed– Increasingawareness($3-9K)

Acknowledgements

All research has been conducted under conditions of the Bahamas Department of Marine Resources Research Permits issued under authorisation of the Bahamas Marine Mammal Protection Act (2005) and under guidance from BMMRO’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

THANKYOUFORYOURATTENTION!Followourwork:www.facebook.com/BMMROwww.bahamaswhales.org