Dear MARMAM colleagues, On behalf of all co-authors, we are pleased to share: (1) Our open-access paper published in Marine Mammal Science Mallette, S.D., McLellan, W. A., Pabst, D. A., Burt, M. Louise., McAlarney, R.J.,Lockhart, G.G., Cummings, E.W., Bell, J.T., Ogburn, M.B., Hamilton, P.K. andRead, A.J., , Robert L.Brownell, R.L. Jr., KeenanT. F., Thomas,L., Fisher,P.G., Bort Thornton,J., Cotter, M.P., Swingle,W.M., Barco,S.G. BaleenWhale Occurrence in the Waters Off Virginia and North Carolina, U.S.A. From2001 to 2019. Marine Mammal Science. 42, no. 3: e70179. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.70179.
Abstract – Eighteen years of visual survey and strandingsdata were used to describe baleen whale occurrence along the continental shelfof Virginia and North Carolina, U.S.A. This region experiences heavyanthropogenic use, which poses risks for mortality and injury to baleen whales.Between 2001 and 2019, six species of baleen whales were recorded, and whalesoccurred year-round. The total number of (on- and off-effort) sightings andstrandings amounted to 838 whales, including humpback (Megapteranovaeangliae, n = 503), fin (Balaenoptera physalus, n = 197), NorthAtlantic right (Eubalaena glacialis, NARW, n = 76), common minke (B.acutorostrata, n = 51), sei (B. borealis, n = 10), and blue (B.musculus, n = 1) whales. Spatial modeling and abundance estimates indicatedwhale density and distribution changed seasonally. The highest densities of allwhales combined occurred in winter and spring. Across seasons, averagedensities were highest in the northern portion of the study area. Ninetypercent of NARW sightings were outside the designated Seasonal Management Areasin place for their protection. The stranding record offered a complementaryview of species richness and seasonality. This study provides a baseline ofbaleen whale occurrence in an area experiencing increasing anthropogenicpressures (e.g., ship traffic and offshore wind energy development). (2) Related resources -- links to a freely available elementary STEM+CT instructional unit developed by the Smithsonian Science Education Center with funding from the US Department of Defense STEM office related and relevant to this research. Want to teach your students how to save whales using Computational Thinking? Researchers and educators have teamed up to share powerful case studies for the classroom. SavingWhales with Computational Thinking | Smithsonian Voices | Smithsonian EducationSmithsonian Magazine. (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-education/2023/07/06/saving-whales-with-computational-thinking/) Protecting Whales (https://ssec.si.edu/whales) is afreely available elementary STEM+CT instructional unit developed by theSmithsonian Science Education Center with funding from the US Department ofDefense STEM office. Protecting Whales was developed for thirdgrade students and was designed to allow students to practice problem solvingusing real data on whale movement and ship traffic to consider ways to reducecollisions which result in death and injury to whales. ProtectingWhales is also available in Spanish and Ukrainian! As part of the Smithsonian Science for ComputationalThinking series, this module is designed to address a bundle of science,engineering, and computational thinking standards from the NextGeneration Science Standards, the Computer Science Teachers AssociationStandards, and the ISTE Student Standards. In this unit, students: - Use similarities and differences in patterns to organize images of whales to reveal which observations are of the same whale. - Develop a model based on whale data to reveal an annual migration pattern of the humpback whale. - Use a visual model of whales’ and ships’ patterns of movement as evidence to support a claim about where whales are likely to get hit by ships. - Apply scientific ideas from data and text to design a solution to decrease the number of whales getting injured or killed by ship strikes. - Use a computer model to compare multiple solutions to the problem of whales getting hit by ships. Thank you for your interest! Sarah Mallette, M.S. ([email protected])Ph.D. CandidateEnvironmentalScience & Policy DepartmentGeorge MasonUniversity4400 UniversityDriveFairfax, VA22030 VisitingScientist SmithsonianEnvironmental Research Center647 ConteesWharf RoadEdgewater, MD21037-0028
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