Field work for the 2025 Atlantic Behavioral Response Study (BRS) is underway. Our field team was on the water Saturday and Sunday, June 21-22, to deploy satellite-linked transmitters on goose-beaked whales Ziphius cavirostris. Our first scheduled Controlled Exposure Experiment (CEE) trial is a month away, so our task this weekend was […]
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Our crew on the R/V Shearwater had a very busy day on Sunday, July 21st. We started at first light by deploying a High Frequency Recording Package (HARP) in our study area off Cape Hatteras. We deployed the HARP in a depth of about 1,000 m – it will record the vocalizations of goose-beaked whales […]
We’ve kicked off the field season for the 2024 Atlantic Behavioral Response Study (BRS)! On June 20th, our crew of five drove up to Manteo, NC with the R/V Barber, our 30’ research vessel, in tow. By first light the following day, we were headed out to sea with a […]
In a letter recently published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, we call on the marine mammal science community to discard the use of the English common name “Cuvier’s beaked whale” for Ziphius cavirostris. Instead, we recommend adoption of the alternative English common name for this species, the goose-beaked whale. We make this […]
The Read Lab was part of a successful disentanglement effort led by personnel from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission to remove Canadian lobster gear from adult male right whale Argo off Frying Pan Shoals in late January. Read the full story here.
On December 22, the U.S. Senate confirmed Andy’s appointment to the Marine Mammal Commission by unanimous consent. Andy joins his fellow nominee, Dr. Sue Moore, and Commission Chair Dr. Frances Gulland as the three Commissioners. See the news story here.
After a frustrating summer marked by very poor offshore weather conditions, everything came together in early August, allowing us to conduct a successful Controlled Exposure Experiment (CEE) with tactical mid-frequency sonar signals deployed by the USS Farragut. A brief weather window allowed our field team to deploy five satellite-linked dive recorders […]
On July 30, we conducted a successful Controlled Exposure Experiment (CEE) with thirteen satellite-tagged Cuvier’s beaked whales Ziphius cavirostris, off Cape Hatteras. These whales were exposed to Mid-Frequency Active Sonar (MFAS) signals in a highly controlled experimental setting. The MFAS signals were produced by the USS Farragut, a guided missile destroyer […]
After a long wait for good weather and engine repairs to the R/V Richard T. Barber, we were very excited to kick off the first round of tag deployments for the 2021 Atlantic Behavioral Response Study (BRS). It felt great to be back in the field and we made the […]
On Wednesday, July 16th we completed a successful experimental playback of Mid-Frequency Active Sonar (MFAS) signals to an adult male Cuvier’s beaked whale off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, as part of the Atlantic Behavioral Response study. This work is designed to improve our understanding of how these acoustically sensitive whales respond […]