A brief overview of cetacean acoustic monitoring along the west coast of Ireland

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Joanne O Brien Marine and Freshwater Research Centre (Berrow,

1 A brief overview of cetacean acoustic monitoring along the west coast of Ireland Dr. Joanne O Brien Marine and Freshwater Research Centre (Berrow, S.D., Wall, D., Benhemma, A., Carmen, M. and Meade, R.) Marine Acoustics Workshop 7 th February, 2018

2 Overview of Static Acoustic Monitoring What is Static Acoustic Monitoring (SAM) Devices used in Irish waters Types of analyses carried out Results from three key projects Case study 1 - Shannon Estuary Case study 2 - MRE test site, Spiddal Case study 3 - ObSERVE-acoustic

3 Portrush, Co Antrim ( ) Mullet peninsula ( ) Connemara (2003) Galway Bay ( ) Shannon Estuary (2001-present) Dublin Bay ( present) Blasket Islands ( ) Roaringwater Bay (2007, 2008, 2015) Cork Coast (2008) Cork Harbour (2010, 2011)

4 Offshore Coverage

5 Case study 1 The Shannon Estuary Simo Berro Shannon Estuary Special Area of Conservation Important industrial area

6 C-POD Deployment Locatio Mo itori g Period Days Mo itored Mo eypoi t 2009 Present 1, 920 Foy es 2009 Present 1,628 Augi ish 2011 Present 912 Sha o Airport 2011 Present 938 Tarbert

7 Seasonal Foraging

8 Tidal Foraging (Tidal Phase)

Case Study 2 MRE Test Site Spidda SAM & WEC deployment BEFORE SMARTBAY Mo

Tota porpoise detectio s % of days ith porpoise detectio s 2006 164 161 98.

9 Case Study 2 MRE Test Site Spidda SAM & WEC deployment BEFORE SMARTBAY Mo itori g period: May 2006 June days 29,145 sixty-minute logging hours Harbour porpoise prese ce 89.2% of days monitored 17% of hours monitored Year # days mo itored DURING Tota porpoise detectio s % of days ith porpoise detectio s AFTER Tota

10 Seasonal distribution and foraging behaviour of harbour porpoise at the MRE Test site 1) Harbour porpoise occurrence bet ee 2006 a d ) Foraging behaviour bet ee 2009 a d 2016 * * * *: statistica y sig ifica t

effects? Disturba ce Harbour porpoise respo ses: Avoida ce behaviour? Disp aceme t?

11 Effects of Wave Energy Converters on harbour porpoise occurrence and foraging behaviour 1) Harbour porpoise occurrence bet ee 2006 a d ) Foraging behaviour bet ee 2009 a d 2016 NS * * NS * * *: statistica y sig ifica t Negative effects? Disturba ce Harbour porpoise respo ses: Avoida ce behaviour? Disp aceme t? Positive effects: Fish aggregatio p atform? Negative effects: Disturba ce? /!\ At a commercia sca e: WEC off periods rare Benhemma le galle, A. and O Brien, J. (In prep)

12 Case study 3 ObSERVEacoustic Funded by Vessels PAM and SAM deployments PAM SAM SAM- CPODs

13 Study Area

Data were sampled at 32 ksps during 342 s and at 250 ksps during 130 s every 8 min.

14 Static Acoustic Monitoring Each AMAR was in a glass sphere with an acoustic release and beacon for retrieval. Each AMAR was fitted with an HTI-99-HF omnidirectional hydrophone (High Tech Inc., 164 db re 1 V/μPa sensitivity). Data were sampled at 32 ksps during 342 s and at 250 ksps during 130 s every 8 min. The 32 ksps channel had 24-bit resolution with a spectral noise floor of 29 db re 1 μpa2/hz and a nominal ceiling of 165 db re 1 μpa. The 250 ksps channel had 16-bit resolution with a spectral noise floor of 35 db re 1 μpa2/hz and a nominal ceiling of 171 db re 1 μpa.

15 Fin whale - Occurrence and Distribution 174,295 calls 53% in % in 2016 Detections higher in the north from September to December Reduction in late spring and summer consistent with known seasonality of songs Partners in ObSERVE-Acoustic

16 Fin Whale - Abundance per Zone and Season Number of calls per day varied significantly with month, season and mooring There was significantly more detections during night-time hours Partners in ObSERVE-Acoustic

17 Sperm whale - Occurrence and Distribution ,624,871 clicks recorded 64.4% in % in 2016 Detected on all moorings in all seasons Detections higher at moorings surrounding the Porcupine Bank 2016 Partners in ObSERVE-Acoustic

18 Sperm whale - Abundance per Zone and Season Detection rates lower at moorings 7 and 8 in all seasons. Moorings 3 and 4 consistently recorded the highest detection rates Significantly more detections during the nighttime hours Partners in ObSERVE-Acoustic

19 Thanks for listening! Aude Benhemma

20 Acknowledgements Long-term monitoring in the Shannon Estuary was supported by PReCAST (SEACHANGE initiative 2009 to 2011), The SIFP, Shannon Foynes Port Company, Moneypoint, Aughinish Alumina and SAC Tarbert. Monitoring at the Renewable Energy Test Site was facilitated by the Marine Institute and SMARTBAY The ObSERVE Programme is a Government-funded initiative of Ireland's Department of Communications, Climate Action & Environment in partnership with the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

Harbour Porpoise Survey 2008

Harbour Porpoise Survey 2008 Simon Berrow 1, Ronan Hickey 1, Joanne O Brien 2, Ian O Connor 2 and David McGrath 2 1 Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Merchants Quay, Kilrush, County Clare 2 Marine Biodiversity