Aude Pacini

• Doctor of Philosophy
• University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

With increased focus on offshore wind (OSW) as a renewable energy resource in the United States and elsewhere, there are concerns about OSW impacts to wildlife, particularly birds and marine mammals. This study identifies technology gaps and technological research and development (R&D) priorities for monitoring marine mammals and birds for fixed an...

ABSTRACT: Studying underwater soundscapes of critical habitats of marine mammals can provide valuable information on the acoustic environment utilized by sound-reliant animals. For the endangered Hawaiian monk seal Neomonachus schauinslandi (HMS), the acoustic scene of their aquatic habitats is poorly understood. We measured ambient noise levels an...

Several odontocete species depredate catch and bait from fishing gear, resulting in their bycatch and causing substantial economic costs. There are no known mitigation methods for odontocete depredation in pelagic longline fisheries that are effective, do not harm odontocetes and are commercially viable. Understanding odontocetes’ depredation strat...

Passive acoustic monitoring is an effective technique for long-term monitoring of the soundscape in marine protected areas. Ocean noise is a key concern for the U.S. Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and has been identified as a research priority. The Sanctuary Soundscape Monitoring Project (“SanctSound”) was implemented to support efforts to a...

Several odontocete species depredate catch and bait from fishing gear, which can lead to bycatch and substantial economic costs. There are no known odontocete depredation mitigation methods for pelagic longline fisheries that are effective, do not harm odontocetes and are economically viable. Using observer data from the Hawaii-based tuna longline...

Passive acoustic monitoring is an effective technique for studying cetacean presence within marine protected areas (MPAs). The Hawaiian archipelago is home to 18 species of resident toothed whales, but little is known regarding the spatio-temporal variability of false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens—FKW) and short-finned pilot whales (Globiceph...

The United States National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issues permits for incidental marine mammal harassment under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act. Authorizations may be issued on a project-by-project basis via incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs), or on a programmatic basis using rulemaking to issue an incidental take regulation...

Understanding the population health status of long-lived and slow-reproducing species is critical for their management. However, it can take decades with traditional monitoring techniques to detect population-level changes in demographic parameters. Early detection of the effects of environmental and anthropogenic stressors on vital rates would aid...

No PDF available ABSTRACT False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) are resident, toothed whale species to the Hawaiian archipelago. False killer whales are considered of high concern in Hawai‘i with the insular population listed as endangered. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is an effec...

No PDF available ABSTRACT Describing underwater soundscapes of critical habitats of marine mammals can provide valuable information on the acoustic environment utilized by sound-reliant animals. For the endangered Hawaiian monk seal (Neomonachus schauinslandi), whose underwater hearing abilities and vocal communication were recently described, the...

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-021-01488-0

Despite rapidly growing interest in deep-sea mineral exploitation, environmental research and management have focused on impacts to seafloor environments, paying little attention to pelagic ecosystems. Nonetheless, research indicates that seafloor mining will generate sediment plumes and noise at the seabed and in the water column that may have ext...

Marine mammals are under growing pressure as anthropogenic use of the ocean increases. Ship-strikes of large whales and loud underwater sound sources including airguns for marine geophysical prospecting and naval mid-frequency sonar are criticized for their possible negative effects on marine mammals. Competent authorities regularly require the imp...

The acoustic startle reflex is an oligo-synaptic reflex arc elicited by rapid-onset sounds. Odontocetes evolved a range of specific auditory adaptations to aquatic hearing and echolocation, e.g. the ability to downregulate their auditory sensitivity when emitting clicks. However, it remains unclear whether these adaptations also led to changes of t...

Toothed whales possess a sophisticated biosonar system by which ultrasonic clicks are projected in a highly directional transmission beam. Beam directivity is an important biosonar characteristic that reduces acoustic clutter and increases the acoustic detection range. This study measured click characteristics and the transmission beam pattern from...

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is developing regulations to control the future exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources including sulphide deposits near hydrothermal vents, polymetallic nodules on the abyssal seafloor, and cobalt crusts on seamounts. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea the ISA is required to adopt are taking m...

Odontocete marine mammals explore the environment by rapidly producing echolocation signals and receiving the corresponding echoes, which likewise return at very rapid rates. Thus, it is important that the auditory system has a high temporal resolution to effectively process and extract relevant information from click echoes. This study used audito...

Hearing sensitivity change was investigated when a warning sound preceded a loud sound in the alse killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) beluga whale (Delphinaperus leucas) and harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). Hearing sensitivity was easured using pip-train test stimuli and auditory evoked potential recordi...

Sensitivity to the local underwater acoustic stimulation of the ventro-lateral head surface was investigated in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The stimuli were tone pip trains of carrier frequencies ranging from 32 to 128 kHz with a pip rate of 1 kHz. Auditory evoked potentials (the rate following responses) were recorded. For all the t...

Sensitivity to the local underwater acoustic stimulation of the ventro-lateral head surface was investigated in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The stimuli were tone pip trains of carrier frequencies ranging from 32 to 128 kHz with a pip rate of 1 kHz. Auditory evoked potentials (the rate following responses) were recorded. For all the t...

Transmission beam characteristics have been described in a small number of odontocete species, providing insight into the biological and ecological factors that have influenced the design of the outgoing echolocation beam. The current study measured the on-axis spectral characteristics and transmission beam pattern of echolocation clicks from a sma...

Interactions between marine mammals and fisheries have a biological and economic impact that is often detrimental to both fishermen and species of concern. False killer whale bycatch in the Hawaii longline fishery has exceeded the potential biological removal (PBR) triggering the designation of a take reduction team under the Marine Mammal Protecti...

Hearing sensitivity, during trials in which a warning sound preceding a loud sound, was investigated in two harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). Sensitivity was measured using pip-train test stimuli and auditory evoked potential recording. When a hearing test/warning stimulus, with a frequency of either 45 or 32 kHz, preceded a loud 32 kHz tone wi...

Aquatic animals such as marine mammals use underwater acoustics rather than vision to position themselves, to communicate, to find their prey or to avoid predators. The conditions for sound propagation in water are very favorable: the velocity of propagation is more than four times faster than in air and sound waves are attenuated little compared t...

Ice-dwelling beluga whales are increasingly being exposed to anthropogenic loud sounds. Beluga's hearing sensitivity measured during a warning sound just preceding a loud sound was tested using pip-train stimuli and auditory evoked potential recording. When the test/warning stimulus with a frequency of 32 or 45 kHz preceded the loud sound with a fr...

The hearing sensitivity of a bottlenose dolphin for a warning sound, when the exact time of the arrival of a loud sound could, or could not, be predicted was measured. Sensitivity was measured when the time of the onset of the loud sound was randomly varied (random-variation sessions) and when the time of the onset of the loud and the pattern of st...

Blast fishing is an illegal and unsustainable practice that is often reported in Southeast Asia and Africa. Its impact on fish and reef-building corals is well documented, yet there is limited information on the effects on other larger species and near-shore predators. In recent years, several marine mammal strandings in the Philippines have coinci...

Understanding the hearing of marine mammals has been a priority to quantify and mitigate the impact of anthropogenic sound on these apex predators. Yet our knowledge of cetacean hearing is still limited to a few dozen species, therefore compromising any attempt to design adaptive management strategies. The use of auditory evoked potentials allows s...

Echolocating animals adjust the transmit intensity and receive sensitivity of their sonar in order to regulate the sensation level of their echoes; this process is often termed automatic gain control. Gain control is considered not to be under the animal's cognitive control, but previous investigations studied animals ensonifying targets or hydroph...

The hearing of marine mammals has been extensively studied in the last decades and has focused primarily on species available in captivity such as the bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus. Recent work has shown that mass stranding events could be related to anthropogenic sound exposure such as naval sonar activities, seismic surveys, or oil drilli...

Quantifying and understanding the impact of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals has been the focus of many researchers both in laboratory settings as well as in the field. This study presents the audiogram of a sub-adult Blainville's beaked whale that stranded in Hawaii. The hearing measurements were conducted using the non-invasive auditory brai...

Long-finned pilot whales are highly social odontocetes found in temperate and subpolar regions. This species is particularly known for its interaction with fisheries as well as its mass strandings. Recent tagging work has provided some information about pilot whales in the wild but, even though they have been successfully kept in captivity, little...

False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens (Owen, 1846)) depredate fish caught by the North Pacific pelagic longline fishery, resulting in loss of target species catch and the whales themselves becoming bycaught. This incidental take of false killer whales exceeds sustainable levels. In an effort to address a potential solution to reducing this depr...

Odontocetes are believed to receive sounds primarily through the pan bone region of the lower jaw although much variation in jaw morphology exists among species. In order to further examine this jaw hearing hypothesis we tested the head receiving sensitivity and directional hearing of a beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas. Hearing thresholds were m...

Although much variation exists in jaw morphology among species, odontocetes are believed to receive sound primarily through the pan bone region of the lower jaw. In order to further examine this jaw hearing hypothesis, we tested the head receiving sensitivity and directional hearing of a beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas. Hearing measurements wer...