Exploration of Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) movements and behaviours in response to vessel noise and marine mammals

A decrease in ice cover in the Arctic ocean is allowing for increases in vessel traffic and noise in this previously undisturbed environment. The remoteness and reduction of species richness poses a challenge when trying to monitor Arctic ocean wildlife, but recent technological advances in animal tagging have supplied further opportunities for surveillance of Arctic animals and their behaviours. Here, we set out to explore fish behaviour in a large predatory species, the Greenland shark, with the use of novel digital acoustic recording tags (DTAGs). Hydrophones and accelerometers within DTAGs allow us to compare acoustic and movement data to better understand the shark’s behaviour. Preliminary examination of the hydrophone recordings has shown a potential association between Greenland sharks and narwhals with a few occurrences of boat noise. Further analysis of accelerometer data may shed light on possible foraging events of Greenland sharks on narwhals and potential avoidance behaviours from boats.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dennis Higgs

Student:

Partner:

National Institute of Polar Research

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Windsor

Program: