Acoustic environment of North Atlantic right whales in the Southeastern United States

North Atlantic right whales are an endangered species of baleen whale that migrates along the east coast of the United States, with winter calving grounds located in the coastal waters off Florida and Georgia. This study investigated the acoustic environment experienced by individual right whales swimming through this habitat though the use of suction cup attached acoustic recording tags. Nineteen tag attachments were made between 2014 and 2016. These tags documented a range of sounds from the right whale acoustic environment, including calls produced by the tagged whale, sounds produced by conspecifics, as well as sounds from other biological (fish and dolphin) and anthropogenic sources. The call rates of individual whales were relatively low, with calls typically produced in short duration bouts. Sounds from other biological sources, particularly fish and dolphin, and anthropogenic sources, particularly vessels, were common. This project presents an initial step toward characterizing the acoustic environment experienced by individual whales to allow future comparisons to stationary acoustic recordings in the same habitat.