Cruise Results: NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter Cruise GU-01-04 (13) 17 July - 22 August 2001, A Study of Sperm Whales in the North-Central Gulf of Mexico

The summer 2001 studies focus on the area south of the Mississippi River Delta with the following objectives: 1. genetic sampling focusing on groups for studies of kinship within groups; 2. intensive photo-identification sampling for individual whale association and site fidelity studies; 3. using photo-identification and genetics results from 2000 and 2001, make mark-recapture estimates of the number of sperm whales that use the study area; 4. tests to study acoustic propagation of sperm whale vocalizations to better use the towed array as a line-transect tool (i.e., How far can sperm whale sounds be heard in the Gulf of Mexico?); 5. oceanographic sampling (CTD, XBT, thermosalinograph, remote sensing) to learn about sperm whale habitats; 6. more extensive DTAG deployment to build a baseline of diving, vocalization and behavior patterns for comparison to other areas and for future studies on the effects of anthropogenic noise, including seismic surveying; 7. initial studies of the effects of seismic surveying on sperm whale behavior; 8. a test of a bottom mounted hydrophone to collect data on the ambient noise in the Delta region; 9. passive acoustic dive profiling; 10. studies of surface behavior during daylight hours; and 11. satellite tag deployment in the Delta region for studies of long-term (up to 5 months) ranging patterns.