| Project data | |
|---|---|
| Project leader: | Prof. Prof. h. c. Dr. Ursula Siebert |
| Scientific work: | Dr. Benno Wölfing |
| Project term: | September 2015 until October 2016 |
| Sponsorship: | Bundeswehr Technical Center for Ships and Naval Weapons (WTD 71) in Eckernförde |
| Cooperation: |
Dr. Kristin Kaschner Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling CREEM, University St. Andrews |
Project description
Anthropogenic underwater noise can negatively affect marine mammals. This includes active sonar systems used during naval operations. Therefore, it is important to use existing information on the marine environment and marine mammal occurrences (sightings, model predictions) to better inform the planning phase of sonar operations.
The aim of the project is to investigate the extent to which opportunistic sightings can be used to confirm existing model predictions or even improve them. This is important because almost all sightings of marine mammals that are registered by Marine Units are opportunistic sightings. They should provide useful information about existing habitat models and improve their ability to predict the distribution of marine mammals.
Existing predictions based on a RES-model (Relative Environmental Suitability Index, Kaschner et al. 2006) will be compared with MaxEnt models of opportunistic sightings (Maxent = Maximum Entropy, Phillips et al. 2006). Controlled flight surveys (Density Surface Models, distance sampling) will serve as a gold standard and will allow us to evaluate model predictions accurately.
