13 Jul Context-dependent Variability in the Predicted Daily Energetic Costs of Disturbance for Blue Whales
Posted at 16:11h in Newsletter
Scientists want to understand how human activities can change the behavior and physiology of animals. Military sonar on marine mammals is especially concerning. Researchers looked at data from blue whales, including fine-scale telemetry measurements of their baseline behavior over multiple days and weeks between 2014-2019. In this study, the integration of multiple data sources allowed translating observed behavioral changes into a potential loss of foraging time and associated energy. This will contribute to robust assessments of the population-level effect of anthropogenic disturbance at spatio-temporal and ecological scales that are relevant to management and conservation.