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Ecological Condition of Coastal Ocean Waters within Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary: 2008 (2021)

Balthis, W. Leonard ; Hyland, Jeffrey L. ; Cooksey, Cynthia ; [et al.]

NOAA/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science | Charleston, SC

In: http://aquaticcommons.org/id/eprint/14762 | 403 | 2014-02-26 21:14:38 | 14762 | United States National Ocean Service

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Publication Date: 2021-07-03

Description: In June 2008, the NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS), in conjunction with the EPA National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory (NHEERL), conducted an assessment of the status of ecological condition of soft-bottom habitat and overlying waters within the boundaries of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS). The sanctuary lies approximately 20 nautical miles east of Boston, MA in the southwest Gulf of Maine between Cape Ann and Cape Cod and encompassing 638 square nautical miles (2,181 km2). A total of 30 stations were targeted for sampling using standard methods and indicators applied in prior NOAA coastalstudies and EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) and National Coastal Assessment (NCA). A key feature adopted from these studies was the incorporation of a random probabilistic sampling design. Such a design provides a basis for making unbiased statistical estimates of the spatial extent of ecological condition relative to various measured indicators and corresponding thresholds of concern. Indicators included multiple measures of water quality, sediment quality, and biological condition (benthic fauna, fish tissue contaminant levels).Depths ranged from 31 – 137 m throughout the study area. About 76 % of the area had sediments composed of sands (〈 20 % silt-clay), 17 % of the area was composed of intermediate muddy sands (20 – 80 % silt-clay), and 7 % of the sampled area consisted of mud (〉 80 % siltclay). About 70 % of the area (represented by 21 sites) had sediment total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations 〈 5 mg/g and all but one site (located in Stellwagen Basin) had levels of TOC 〈 20 mg/g, which is well below the range potentially harmful to benthic fauna (〉 50 mg/g).Surface salinities ranged from 30.6 – 31.5 psu, with the majority of the study region (approximately 80 % of the area) having surface salinities between 30.8 and 31.4 psu. Bottom salinities varied between 32.1 and 32.5 psu, with bottom salinities at all sites having values above the range of surface salinities. Surface-water temperatures varied between 12.1 and 16.8 ºC, while near-bottom waters ranged in temperature from 4.4 – 6.2 ºC. An index of densitystratification (Δσt) indicated that the waters of SBNMS were stratified at the time of sampling. Values of Δσt at 29 of the 30 sites sampled in this study (96.7 % of the study area) varied from 2.1 – 3.2, which is within the range considered to be indicative of strong vertical stratification (Δσt 〉 2) and typical of the western Gulf of Maine in summer.Levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) were confined to a fairly narrow range in surface (8.8 – 10.4 mg/L) and bottom (8.5 – 9.6 mg/L) waters throughout the survey area. These levels are within the range considered indicative of good water quality (〉 5 mg/L) with respect to DO. None of these waters had DO at low levels (〈 2 mg/L) potentially harmful to benthic fauna and fish.

Keywords: Conservation ; Ecology ; Fisheries ; Management

Repository Name: AquaDocs

Type: monograph

Format: application/pdf

Format: 59

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Bottom side-roll feeding by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern Gulf of Maine, U.S.A (2014)

Ware, Colin ; Wiley, David N. ; Friedlaender, Ari S. ; [et al.]

John Wiley & Sons

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Publication Date: 2022-05-25

Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Marine Mammal Science 30 (2014): 494–511, doi:10.1111/mms.12053.

Description: Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are known for the variety and complexity of their feeding behaviors. Here we report on the use of synchronous motion and acoustic recording tags (DTAGs) to provide the first detailed kinematic descriptions of humpback whales using bottom side-rolls (BSRs) to feed along the seafloor. We recorded 3,505 events from 19 animals (individual range 8–722). By animal, mean BSR duration ranged from 14.1 s to 36.2 s.; mean body roll angle from 80º to 121º, and mean pitch from 7º to 38º. The median interval between sequential BSRs, by animal, ranged from 24.0 s to 63.6 s and animals tended to maintain a consistent BSR heading during long BSR series encompassing multiple dives. BSRs were most frequent between 2200 and 0400. We identify three classes of behavior: simple side-roll, side-roll inversion, and repetitive scooping. Results indicate that BSR feeding is a common technique in the study area and there is both coordination and noncoordination between animals. We argue that this behavior is not lunge feeding as normally characterized, because animals are moving slowly through the event. The behavior also leads to vulnerability to entanglement in bottom-set fishing gear, a major mortality factor for the species.

Description: Funding for TrackPlot development was provided by an ONR grant to Colin Ware (ONR N0014091601) and from NOAA Grant #NA05NOS4001153 to the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping. Field work and analysis was supported by Office of Naval Research grant N00014-08-0630 (to SEP, DW), National Oceanographic Partnership Program (to DW), the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

Keywords: Humpback whale ; Megaptera novaeangliae ; Bottom feeding ; Bottom side-rolls ; Coordination ; Entanglement

Repository Name: Woods Hole Open Access Server

Type: Article