Mid-Atlantic Humpback whale Monitoring 2015-2020

The U.S. Navy Marine Species Monitoring Program

North Atlantic humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of the West Indies distinct population segment (Bettridge et al. 2015) migrate from six northern feeding grounds to Caribbean Sea waters during the winter months (Waring et al. 2013). Some whales do not take part in this migration and use the Mid-Atlantic region to over-winter (Barco et al. 2002). Understanding the occurrence and behavior of humpback whales in the vicinity of U.S. Navy training and vessel transiting activities off the coast of Virginia is important in mitigating potentially harmful impacts on the species. The objectives of this project under the Navy’s Marine Species Monitoring Program are to establish baseline occurrence and behavior data for humpback whales in the Hampton Roads mid-Atlantic region by addressing the following questions:
- What age classes (juveniles, sub-adults, adults) are utilizing the waters within and adjacent to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay?
- Do humpback whales exhibit site-fidelity over periods of days to years?
- Do humpback whales congregate in specific high-traffic and/or high-use Navy training areas?
- Do humpback whales spend significant time within or move through areas of U.S. Navy live-fire and mine neutralization exercise (MINEX) training)?

This dataset documents animal sightings, boat tracks, and satellite tagging data collected during nearshore monitoring efforts off the coast of Virginia Beach, VA. Since its inception in 2015, the program has focused on tracking the presence and movement of humpback and fin whales in the region.

Survey Summary and Findings:
- January – May 2015: Initial monitoring efforts recorded sightings of humpback whales within the nearshore study area.
- October 2017 – March 2018: Over the course of 15 survey days, the team recorded sightings and boat tracks. Additionally, six humpback whales and three fin whales were tracked using Argos satellite tags.
- July 2018 – May 2019: Monitoring increased to 28 survey days. During this window, ten humpback whales were successfully tagged and tracked via satellite.
- December 2019 – March 2020: The final survey period included 15 days of nearshore monitoring for animal sightings and boat tracking..

The work was performed by HDR for NAVFAC LANT under the following task orders and contract awards:

- 2015 Monitoring: Task Order CTO 54 (IDIQ Contract N62470-10-D-3011)
- 2017–2018 Monitoring: Task Order TO17F4013 (IDIQ Contract N62470-15-D-8006)
- 2018–2019 Monitoring: Task Order TO19F4005 (IDIQ Contract N62470-15-D-8006)
- 2019–2020 Monitoring: Task Order TO20F4011 (IDIQ Contract N62470-15-D-8006)

This project focuses on nearshore non-systematic visual surveys from a small vessel with associated photo identification, sUAS, biopsy sampling and tagging using Wildlife Computers Smart Position and Temperature (SPOT6) Argos-linked satellite tags as well as SPLASH-F variations that record diving behavior and integrate Fastloc© GPS (Wildtrack Telemetrry Systems Limited) in the Low Impact Minimally Percutaneous Electronic Transmitter (LIMPET) configuration. Primary objectives of this project include: 1. Collect baseline occurrence data (location, sex, group size, behavior) of humpback whales (and other species of baleen whales opportunistically) 2. Obtain identification photographs of humpback whales for inclusion in regional and local catalogs. 3. Collect biopsy samples of humpback whales for sex determination, mitochondrial control region sequencing, and microsatellite genotyping of tissue samples, and stable isotope analysis to determine foraging related to prey consumption. 4. Conduct satellite tagging to document seasonal humpback whale movement patterns in the nearshore waters off Virginia Beach, specifically whether the whales spend significant time in areas of high shipping traffic and/or areas of U.S. Navy training exercises. The study area includes waters in and around the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay as well as the W-50 MINEX region off Virginia Beach. Although the operating area for each survey is chosen depending on weather conditions and reports of humpback whales or other baleen whales in the area, there will always remain a focus on areas of high Navy use, such as the W-50a MINEX zone and shipping channels. During each encounter, every effort will be made to collect identification photographs of the dorsal fins and tail flukes (when possible). Based on the animal’s identification, satellite tags may be deployed and biopsy samples may be collected, depending on what data has previously been collected from that individual. For additional information please visit the U.S. Navy's Marine Species Monitoring website where links to videos, technical reports, and publications can be found: https://www.navymarinespeciesmonitoring.us/reading-room/project-profiles/mid-atlantic-humpback-whale-monitoring1/

Sightings and effort data were entered and organized in this geodatabase by HDR. Source data was provided by HDR under the MSM IDIQ contract. Sighting locations represent actual animal locations. Sightings and effort data for this project were collected using a prototype collection application. Because this application used a different database structure, there are no environmentals associated with the effort tracks.

Survey tracklines (aggregated over time) are available online and included in a downloadable zip file (shapefile format).

The dataset has been updated over time as outlined below. Each entry includes the version number, release date, type of change, and a short description.

Overview

This section explains attributes included in the original dataset. OBIS-SEAMAP restricts the attributes available to the public to date/time, lat/lon and species names/counts only. Should you need other attributes described here, you are encouraged to contact the data provider.

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
All attributes are included in the downloadable file (CSV or ESRI File Geodatabase) for "Complete Set of Dataset".

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)	Description
oid	Unique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
bearing
bearingabs	Bearing (absolute)
behavior	Behavior
behaviorevent	Behavior event
beaufortscale	Beaufort sea state (0-12)
beaufortscaleleft	Beaufort sea state (0-12) at left side (since 2017)
countcalves	The number of calves in the sighting
countjuveniles	Number of juveniles
counttotbest	The best estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
counttotmax	The highest estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
counttotmin	The lowest estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
cue	Sighingt cue
depthsounding	Depth as determined in situ via sounding in meters
distsight	The radial distance to the animal
headingplatmagnetic	Heading
headingplattrue	Heading
effortstatus	Indication of whether the survey team was actively searching with all designated observers focused on searching for marine mammal sighting cues. Options: On= dedicated observation effort with both observers on watch. If line, strip, or point transect - following formal distance sampling protocol regardless of survey mode (e.g. maintaining observation and platform protocols on a connector line). All other survey types - maintaining a consistent level of observation effort ; Off= not observing; If line, strip, or point transect - not following formal distance sampling protocol regardless of survey mode (e.g. platform speed or altitude is not consistent with protocol, incomplete observer effort, etc). All other survey types - no dedicated observation effort. Compormised= only one observer watching, observing through cloud/fog patches, dark, or other conditions that compromise ability to observe consistently
latanimal	Latitude of animals in decimal degrees
latplatform	The latitude of the platform in decimal degrees
longanimal	Longitude of animals in decimal degrees
longplatform	The Longitude of the platform in decimal degrees
observer	The name of the observer who first sighted the animal
percentcloudcover	Cloud cover as represented by a percentage (percent)
platformmodel	definition not provided
sightingtimeend	definition not provided
opticstype	definition not provided
datetime	Date and time of the sighting at local time zone
datetimeutc	Date and time of the sighting at UTC
surveyid	Survey ID
sightingnotes	Notes field to capture information not covered by existing attributes or other information of interest
sightingnumber	The sighting number for the particular survey day
spcsnmsci	Scientific name
spcsnmcom	Common name of the sighted species. Output should be singular (e.g. bottlenose dolphin)
sp_tsn	ITIS Taxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
swell	Swell height in ft
visibility	The estimated distance at which an animal could potentially be sighted in km
winddirection	Wind direction
distsighttype	Type of distance estimation (estimated, range-finder, reticle calculation, declination calculation)
photos	Flag to indicate if photo was taken
channelin500	(blank for data in 2015 - May 2019)
shipin500cargo	(blank for data in 2015 - May 2019)
shipin500fishrec	(blank for data in 2015 - May 2019)
shipin500navy	(blank for data in 2015 - May 2019)
distsightperp	(blank for data in 2015 - May 2019)
ordnance	(blank for data in 2015 - May 2019)
platformelevation	(blank for data in 2015 - May 2019)
geom	Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP