PROJECTS

This project is intended to provide baseline information on the species composition, density, distribution, and basic behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present within the United States (U.S.) Navy’s Virginia Capes (VACAPES) Operating Area (OPAREA). This study is part of a larger, multi-institutional, marine mammal and sea turtle monitoring program of U.S. Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico supporting Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT)

This report summarizes the aerial survey effort conducted at the JAX site from 2009 through 2017. The monitoring project was intended to provide information on the species composition, density, and spatial distribution of marine mammals and sea turtles present in Navy’s JAX operating area (OPAREA), with particular focus on the intended site of the USWTR. These aerial surveys extended over nine years and yielded a very detailed seasonal picture of the occurrence, distribution and abundance of marine mammals and sea turtles in the region. This work also provides an important baseline against which future changes in the marine mammal and sea turtle fauna can be assessed.

Evidence of seasonal use, foraging, and site fidelity from mark‐recapture efforts suggest the midAtlantic may provide important seasonal habitat for mysticetes (Swingle et al. 1993, Barco et al. 2002, Salisbury et al. 2015, Mallette et al. 2016).

This report represents one facet of a collaborative multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

This report forms part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density, and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

In 2015, to serve the operational needs of the Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing program, survey effort was extended north into Virginia creating the Norfolk Canyon survey area. Three years of aerial surveys at this site have provided preliminary information on the distribution and diversity of cetaceans and sea turtles. The current report builds on this past body of work and describes aerial survey monitoring activities at the Norfolk Canyon study area in 2017.

The survey site includes an approximately 6,500-square-kilometer area off the coast of Virginia extending from the southern portion of the eastern shore of Virginia to the North Carolina/Virginia state border. The aerial survey design was established based upon advisements from the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM) at the University of St. Andrews and objectives identified by the U.S. Navy

This report forms part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density, and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

This report forms part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density, and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

This report forms part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density, and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

This report details part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information 3 on the species composition, population identity, density, and baseline behavior of marine 4 mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. 5 Atlantic Coast.

This report forms part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast

This report forms part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

This report forms part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density, and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

This report forms part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in Navy range complexes along the Atlantic coast. This program began in 2007, with baseline aerial and vessel surveys and a passive acoustic monitoring program in Onslow Bay, North Carolina and has since expanded to include study areas off Jacksonville, Florida and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

This report forms part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in Navy range complexes along the Atlantic coast. This program began in 2007, with baseline aerial and vessel surveys and a passive acoustic monitoring program in Onslow Bay, North Carolina and has since expanded to include study areas off Jacksonville, Florida and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. In Onslow Bay, six years of monitoring have yielded a comprehensive picture of the density, distribution and abundance of marine mammals and sea turtles and provided new insights into residency patterns among pelagic delphinid cetaceans in this region. More than four years of monitoring in Jacksonville have provided similar information on the density and distribution of marine mammals and sea turtles in this area. In Cape Hatteras, almost three years of surveys have provided preliminary information on the complex patterns of distribution and diversity of the marine mammals and sea turtles in this highly productive area. The current report builds on this past body of work and describes monitoring activities that occurred between January and December 2013.

This report forms part of a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in Navy range complexes along the Atlantic coast. This program began in 2007, with baseline aerial and vessel surveys and a passive acoustic monitoring program in Onslow Bay, North Carolina and has since expanded to include study areas off Jacksonville, Florida and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. In Onslow Bay, six years of monitoring have yielded a comprehensive picture of the density, distribution and abundance of marine mammals and sea turtles and provided new insights into residency patterns among pelagic delphinid cetaceans in this region. More than four years of monitoring in Jacksonville have provided similar information on the density and distribution of marine mammals and sea turtles in this area. In Cape Hatteras, almost three years of surveys have provided preliminary information on the complex patterns of distribution and diversity of the marine mammals and sea turtles in this highly productive area. The current report builds on this past body of work and describes monitoring activities that occurred between January and December 2013.