Hyperoodon Movements in the Northeast Atlantic

HYPMO is a University of Iceland research project on the movement ecology of the elusive northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, and its vulnerability to noise exposure.

Hyperoodon Movements in the Northeast Atlantic

HYPMO is a University of Iceland research project on the movement ecology of the elusive northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, and its vulnerability to noise exposure.

HYPMO studies northern bottlenose whales in the Northeast Atlantic to aid in their conservation.

When it comes to cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), beaked whales are some of the least understood because of their extreme diving, sparse distribution and deep water habitat. The northern bottlenose whale is the most abundant beaked whale in the (sub-)arctic. Like other beaked whales, northern bottlenose whales appear to be highly sensitive to noise from powerful acoustic sources like naval sonar and potentially seismic airgun arrays. HYPMO addresses this lack of knowledge by studying the movement ecology (when, where, why and which animals move) of northern bottlenose whales and their vulnerability to exposure to manmade noise.

HYPMO is supported by the RANNÍS Icelandic Research Fund and RANNÍS Infrastructure Fund with additional support from the University of Iceland and University of St Andrews.

Key Research Areas

Our current research covers three main topics:

Movement at the population level

We investigate distribution and movements at the population level using deep-sea acoustic recorders, historical stranding and sighting information and photo identification.

Deep-sea acoustic recorders, historical stranding and sightings, photo ID.

Individual behaviour and habitat use

We study movements, behaviour and habitat use of individuals using satellite tags, boat and drone-based visual observation, and biopsy sampling.

Satellite tagging, boat and drone-based observation, biopsy sampling.

Risk of anthropogenic noise

We assess relative risk of noise exposure for northern bottlenose whales by measuring habitat overlap in time and space with intense noise sources such as seismic surveys.

Assessing spatiotemporal overlap of whale habitat with intense noise sources.

Our Team at University of Iceland

Paul Wensveen. PI and founder of the project. Paul’s research centers on noise effects on marine mammals and generally involves acoustics, sensory biology, biologging and telemetry, and behaviour. Paul is currently a research specialist hosted by Prof Jörundur Svavarsson at the University of Iceland´s Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences. He is based at the Science and Learning Centre of the Westman Islands (Þekkingarsetur Vestmannaeyja) in the south of Iceland.

Barbara Neubarth. Babsi has many years of experience in whale watching, expedition cruises and cetacean research in the field and behind the desk. She is an expert on citizen science and has a MSc in Coastal and Marine Management from the University Centre of the Westfjords in Iceland. Babsi wrote her master´s thesis on bottlenose whale diving behaviour and was heavily involved in setting up the first photo id catalogue of the project.

Caroline Haas. Behavioural biologist and bioacoustician. Caroline is conducting her doctoral studies on the acoustic behaviour of northern bottlenose whales for which she uses data from long-term deep-water recorders, a vertical array of hydrophones and animal-attached acoustic tags (DTAGs). Her project is a joint PhD in collaboration with the University of St Andrews’ School of Biology, where she is supervised by Profs Patrick Miller and Sascha Hooker.

Hólmfríður Jakobsdóttir. Hóffý conducted her BSc in Biology at the University of Iceland and wrote her thesis on group size, photographic age-sex classification, and group composition of northern bottlenose whales in waters around Iceland and Jan Mayen.

Michelle Dutro. Michelle has a MSc in Coastal and Marine Management from the University Centre of the Westfjords in Iceland. For her thesis research she used data from our bottom-moored stereo acoustic recorder to study the acoustic occurrence and movement directions of bottlenose and sperm whales between Iceland and the Faroes.

Patrick Kagerer. During his project with the International Master of Bioacoustics at the University of Saint-Étienne, Patrick has developed a method to localise sperm whales using the bottom-moored stereo acoustic recorder and analysed their 3D movements and acoustic behaviour to understand migration and habitat use.

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Research Partners

Institutions that are formally involved in the project.

Acknowledgement

Science is teamwork. We are deeply grateful to all those who have helped us by providing photos, sighting or stranding reports, equipment and advice:

Yann Kolbeinsson – Vittoria Sesani – Valerie Chosson – Turid Vestergaard – Tryggvi Már Sæmundsson – Tórik Rouah – Tomoko Narazaki – Tom Grove – Sverrir Halldórsson – Steve Truluck – Sólveig Ólafsdóttir – Sigird Petersen – Sascha Hooker – Sara Sigmundsdóttir – Sandra Lundgren – Sander von Benda-Beckmann – Sander van IJsselmuide – Saana Isojunno – Ruth Zollen – Rune Hansen – Rui Prieto – Rolf Stange – Rodrigo Martínez Catalán – Petter Kvadsheim – Paul Ensor – Örn Hilmisson – Norberto Serpa – Nolwenn Dameron – Nina Bonga-Burguet – Natassia Eugénie – Naomi Boon – Nadya Ramírez Martínez – Nacho Oria – Morgane Dromby – Miguel Neves – Max Hoyt – Mark Badalan – Marie Petitguyot – Marie Mrusczok – Marie Lariviere – Marianne Rasmussen – Marc Gose – Luke Penketh – Lucia Martín López – Loes de Heus – Lisa Steiner – Leigh Hickmott – Laura Feyrer – Lars Kleivane – Karl O’Neill – Karin Hartman – Kaja Czajkowska – Kagari Aoki – Judith Scott – Joel Moore – Joe Thompson – Joanna Kershaw – Jeroen Hoekendijk – Jane Sproull Thomson – Jake Levenson – Jacek Śliwiński – Iñaki Aizpurua Quiroga – Hlynur Sveinsson – Heiða Guðmundsdóttir – Hannah Wood – Hanna Michel – Guðmundur Óskarsson – Greg Schorr – Grace Evans – Georg Skæringsson – Gary Haskins – Frans-Peter Lam – Florian Becker – Fleur Visser – Eyþór Jónsson – Estel Sánchez i Camí – Eric dos Santos – Emilia Zygarłowska – Eirik Grønningsæter – Einar Guðmann – Eilidh Siegal – Eðvald Daníelsson – Edda Magnúsdóttir – David Mann – Daisy Drake-Lee – Curt Jenner – Christophe Pampoulie – Charlotte Curé – Charla Basran – captain Mási – Bruno Gonçalves – Bjarki Dalsgard – Annemieke Podt – Anna Selbmann – Anna Gunnarsdóttir – Andreas Macrander – Alexandra Sigurðardóttir – Alec Burslem – Alberto Martinez Rodriguez

Hyperoodon Movements in the Northeast Atlantic

HYPMO is a University of Iceland research project on the movement ecology of the elusive northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, and its vulnerability to noise exposure.

Hyperoodon Movements in the Northeast Atlantic

HYPMO is a University of Iceland research project on the movement ecology of the elusive northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, and its vulnerability to noise exposure.

HYPMO studies northern bottlenose whales in the Northeast Atlantic to aid in their conservation.