Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce 3 recent publications from our Passive Acoustics Branch in the ICES Journal of Marine Science special issue "Assessing the impact of expanding offshore wind energy". All are open access:
1. Davis, G.E., Tennant, S.C., Van Parijs, S.M. Upcalling behaviour and patterns in North Atlantic right whales, implications for monitoring protocols during wind energy development, *ICES Journal of Marine Science*, 2023;, fsad174, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsad174 Abstract: Offshore wind energy is rapidly developing in US waters, with construction underway off Southern New England (SNE), an important region for many species, including the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW). A data-driven understanding of NARW upcalling behaviour is presented here to help establish proper monitoring protocols for mitigating impacts. Analyses of individual upcalls from 2 years of acoustic recordings showed that NARWs were detected at least 1 day every week throughout both years, with highest NARW presence from October to April. Weeks with more days of acoustic presence typically had more hours with calling activity, but the number of upcalls within a day or hour was variable, reflective of the social function of the upcall. Within SNE, on average, 95% of the time NARWs persisted for 10 days, and reoccurred again within 11 days. An evaluation of the time period over which it is most effective to monitor prior to commencing pile driving activities showed that with 1 h of pre-construction monitoring there was only 4% likelihood of hearing a NARW, compared to 74% at 18 h. Therefore, monitoring for at least 24 h prior to activity will increase the likelihood of detecting an up-calling NARW. 2. Holdman, A.K., Tregenza, N., Van Parijs, S.M., DeAngelis, A.I. Acoustic ecology of harbour porpoise (*Phocoena phocoena*) between two U.S. offshore wind energy areas, *ICES Journal of Marine Science*, 2023;, fsad150, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsad150 Abstract: Offshore wind energy is set to develop rapidly in waters off the east coast of the United States. There is considerable overlap between areas proposed for offshore wind development and harbour porpoise habitats in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and Southern New England waters. Baseline data on the occurrence and foraging activity of porpoises was collected using 10 echolocation-click detectors (F-PODs) from 2020 to 2022. Porpoises were present year-round in the GOM with peak detections in the summer and fall. In line with previous reported distribution patterns, porpoise occurrence in Southern New England was high in fall, winter and spring, but porpoises were largely absent in the summer. One site in the GOM, Mount Desert Rock (MDR), was an anomaly as porpoise detections here were highest in the winter. On average, foraging was identified in 29% of all porpoise detections, with the most foraging occurring at MDR (53%). Results from generalized additive models suggest that time of year, hour of day, lunar illumination, and temperature are significant contributors to porpoise presence and/or foraging effort. European studies show that harbour porpoises exhibit behavioural changes, disruption of foraging and displacement due to wind energy development. Therefore, early identification of areas of importance, mitigating impacts, and monitoring changes is essential for the protection of this species in US waters. 3. Van Parijs, S.M., DeAngelis, A.I., Aldrich, T., Gordon, R., Holdman, A., McCordic, J.A., Mouy, X., Rowell, T.J., Tennant, S., Westell, A., Davis, G.E. Establishing baselines for predicting change in ambient sound metrics, marine mammal, and vessel occurrence within a US offshore wind energy area, *ICES Journal of Marine Science*, 2023;, fsad148, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsad148 Abstract: Evaluating potential impacts on marine animals or increased sound levels resulting from offshore wind energy construction requires the establishment of baseline data records from which to draw inference. This study provides 2 years of baseline data on cetacean species’ presence, vessel activity, and ambient sound levels in the southern New England wind energy area. With eight species/families present in the area for at least 9 months of the year, this area represents an important habitat for cetaceans. Most species showed seasonality, with peak daily presence in winter (harbour porpoise, North Atlantic right, fin, and humpback whales), summer (sperm whales), spring (sei whales), or spring and fall/autumn (minke whales). Delphinids were continuously present and blue whales present only in January. The endangered North Atlantic right whales were present year round with high presence in October through April. Daily vessel presence showed an increase from summer through fall/autumn. On average, ambient sound levels were lowest in summer and increased late 2021 through 2022 with most temporal variability occurring across lower frequencies. The area showed a complex soundscape with several species sharing time–frequency space as well as overlap of vessel noise with the communication range of all baleen whale species. Cheers, *Genevieve Davis* *Passive Acoustics Branch* Northeast Fisheries Science Center 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 NOAA Fisheries | U.S. Department of Commerce Phone: 508-495-2325 NEFSC Passive Acoustic Research: www.fisheries.noaa.gov <https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/endangered-species-conservation/passive-acoustic-research-atlantic-ocean> NEFSC Passive Acoustic Cetacean Map (PACM) <https://apps-nefsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/pacm/#/>
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