On behalf of the research team collaborating on the SOCAL-BRS project to study the behavior of marine mammals in southern California and their responses to human sounds including military sonar, I am pleased to report the completion of our 2014 annual research report. This includes some work that ran later in the season this year and we recently completed the report and are glad to make it publicly available.

The report is available at <https://sea-inc.net/assets/pdf/SOCAL14_final_report.pdf>

Risso’s dolphins in social interactions off California (Credit: B. Southall; NMFS permit #14534)

Within this report we provide details on our activities and accomplishments in 2014. We also reference the increasing number of scientific publications the project has and continues to generate. A number of these papers are referenced in the report and available in our resources page here and linked from the main SOCAL-BRS page available at <www.socal-brs.org>. Any of these are also available by email at Brandon.Southall@sea-inc.net

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Southall, B. L., J. Calambokidis, P. Tyack, D. Moretti, J, Hildebrand, C. Kyburg, R. Carlson, A. Friedlaender, E. Falcone, G. Schorr, A. Douglas, S. DeRuiter, J. Goldbogen, J. Barlow. (2011). Project report: Biological and Behavioral Response Studies of Marine Mammals in Southern California, 2010 (SOCAL-10).

Southall, B. L., J. Calambokidis, P. Tyack, D. Moretti, J, Hildebrand, C. Kyburg, R. Carlson, A. Friedlaender, E. Falcone, G. Schorr, A. Douglas, S. DeRuiter, J. Goldbogen, J. Barlow. (2012). Project report: Biological and Behavioral Response Studies of Marine Mammals in Southern California, 2011 (SOCAL-11).

Southall, B. L., D. Moretti, B. Abraham, J. Calambokidis, P.L. Tyack. (2012). Marine Mammal Behavioral Response Studies in Southern California: Advances in Technology and Experimental Methods. Marine Technology Society Journal 46, 46-59.

Goldbogen J.A., Calambokidis J., Friedlaender A.S., Francis J., DeRuiter S.L., Stimpert A.K., Falcone E., Southall B.L. (2012). Underwater acrobatics by the world’s largest predator: 360° rolling manoeuvres by lunge-feeding blue whales. Biology Letters 9:20120986. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0986

Southall, B. L., J. Calambokidis, P. Tyack, D. Moretti, J, Hildebrand, C. Kyburg, R. Carlson, A. Friedlaender, E. Falcone, G. Schorr, K. Southall, A. Douglas, S. DeRuiter, J. Goldbogen, J. Barlow. (2013). Project report: Biological and Behavioral Response Studies of Marine Mammals in Southern California, 2012 (SOCAL-12).

DeRuiter S.L., Southall B.L., Calambokidis J., Zimmer W.M.X., Sadykova D., Falcone E.A., Friedlaender A.S., Joseph J.E., Moretti, D., Schorr G.S., Thomas L., Tyack P.L. (2013). First direct measurements of behavioural responses by Cuvier’s beaked whales to mid-frequency active sonar. Biology Letters 9: 20130223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0223.

Goldbogen J.A., Southall B.L., DeRuiter S.L., Calambokidis J., Friedlaender A.S., Hazen E.L., Falcone E.A., Schorr G.S., Douglass A., Moretti D.J., Kyburg C., McKenna M.F., Tyack P.L. (2013). Blue whales respond to simulated mid-frequency military sonar. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: 20130657. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.0657

Yack, T.M., J. Barlow, J. Calambokidis, B. Southall, S. Coates. (2013). Identification of previously unknown beaked whale habitat in the Southern California Bight using a towed hydrophone array. J. Acoust. Soc. Amer. 134, 2589-2597.

Southall, B. L., J. Calambokidis, P. Tyack, D. Moretti, A. Friedlaender, E. Falcone, G. Schorr, K. Southall, A. Douglas, S. DeRuiter, J. Goldbogen, J. Barlow. (2014). Project report: Biological and Behavioral Response Studies of Marine Mammals in Southern California, 2013 (SOCAL-13).

Friedlaender A.S., Goldbogen, J..A. Hazen E.L., Calambokidis, J.A., Southall, B.L. (2014). Feeding performance of sympatric blue and fin whales exploiting a common prey resource. Marine Mammal Science. DOI: 10.1111/mms.12134.

Goldbogen, J. A., A. K. Stimpert, S. L. DeRuiter, J. Calambokdis, A. S. Friedlaender, G. S. Schorr, D. J. Moretti, P. L. Tyack, B. L. Southall. (2014). Using accelerometers to determine the calling behavior of tagged baleen whales. The Journal of Experimental Biology, jeb-103259.

Stimpert, A. K., DeRuiter, S. L., Southall, B. L., Moretti, D. J., Falcone, E. A., Goldbogen, J. A., Friedlaender, A., Schorr, G.S., & Calambokidis, J. (2014). Acoustic and foraging behavior of a Baird’s beaked whale, Berardius bairdii, exposed to simulated sonar. Scientific Reports, 4: 7031. DOI: 10.1038/srep07031.

Goldbogen, J. A., Hazen, E. L., Friedlaender, A. S., Calambokidis, J., DeRuiter, S. L., Stimpert, A. K., & Southall, B. L. (2014). Prey density and distribution drive the three‐dimensional foraging strategies of the largest filter feeder. Functional Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12395.