Elke Burkhardt

Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research | AWI · Department of Observational Oceanography

Aim: Species distribution models (SDMs) are essential tools in ecology and conservation. However, the scarcity of visual sightings of marine mammals in remote polar areas hinders the effective application of SDMs there. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data provide year-round information and overcome foul weather limitations faced by visual survey...

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) can be used to monitor acoustic presence and behaviour of cetaceans, providing continuous, long-term, and seasonally unbiased data. The efficiency of PAM methods, however, depends on the ability to detect and correctly interpret acoustic signals. The upcall is the most prevalent vocalization of the southern right w...

Following their near extirpation by industrial whaling of the 20th century, the population status of Southern Hemisphere fin whales (SHFW) remains unknown. Systematic surveys estimating fin whale abundance in the Southern Ocean are not yet available. Records of fin whale sightings have been collected by a variety of organisations over the past few...

Bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus ) of the East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents Sea (Spitsbergen) population are still considered endangered, but knowledge on spatio-temporal distribution patterns and behavioral aspects remains scarce, yet crucial for this population’s conservation. Long-term passive acoustic recordings were collected at five location...

Understanding cetacean distribution is essential for conservation planning and decision-making, particularly in regions subject to rapid environmental changes. Nevertheless, information on their spatiotemporal distribution is commonly limited, especially from remote areas. Species distribution models (SDMs) are powerful tools, relating species occu...

These animated videos represent daily and weekly mean habitat suitability from dynamic species distribution models on four baleen whale species in the Southern Ocean: Antarctic minke (Balaenoptera bonaerensis), Antarctic blue (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia), fin (Balaenoptera physalus), and humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) whales. For more inf...

Species distribution models (SDMs) relate species information to environmental conditions to predict potential species distributions. The majority of SDMs are static, relating species presence information to long-term average environmental conditions. The resulting temporal mismatch between species information and environmental conditions can incre...

Aim: Information on the spatio-temporal distribution of marine species is essential for developing proactive management strategies. However, sufficient information is seldom available at large spatial scales, particularly in polar areas. The Southern Ocean (SO) represents a critical habitat for various species, particularly migratory baleen whales....

Aim: Information on the spatio-temporal distribution of marine species is essential for developing proactive management strategies. However, sufficient information is seldom available at large spatial scales, particularly in polar areas. The Southern Ocean (SO) represents a critical habitat for various species, particularly migratory baleen whales....

This study investigates the relevance of the Elephant Island (EI) region for Southern Hemisphere fin whales ( Balaenoptera physalus ) in their annual life cycle. We collected 3 years of passive acoustic recordings (January 2013 to February 2016) northwest of EI to calculate time series of fin whale acoustic indices, daily acoustic occurrence, spect...

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...

Understanding the dynamics of cetacean distribution in ecologically vulnerable regions is essential to interpret the impact of environmental changes on species ecology and ecosystem functioning. Species distribution models (SDMs) are helpful tools that link species occurrences to environmental variables in order to predict a species’ potential dist...

Detailed information on cetacean distribution is crucial to identify large-scale conservation actions and management decisions. Understanding the ecological drivers behind their spatial patterns in the Southern Ocean is complicated by whales’ mobility and the logistic restrictions in collecting data in polar environments. Species distribution model...

This background document is provided the scientific basis, rationale and justification for the evaluation and potential establishment of a marine protected area (MPA) in the Weddell Sea planning area. It has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the CAMLR Convention and the relevant CCAMLR agreements and measures, such as the general f...

Seismic surveys are frequently a matter of concern regarding their potential negative impacts on marine mammals. In the Southern Ocean, which provides a critical habitat for several endangered cetacean species, seismic research activities are undertaken at a circumpolar scale. In order to minimize impacts of these surveys, pre-cruise planning requi...

Germany intends to present the Scientific Committee the background document that provides the scientific basis for the evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Weddell Sea. Please note, that the current state of the background document presents a comprehensive yet incomplete first version concerning chapters that have to be (further)...

At the CCAMLR meeting in 2012, the Commission welcomed the offer of Germany to take the lead in developing a Weddell Sea MPA for consideration in 2014. Subsequently, the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection tasked the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research to compile and analyse scie...

Humpback whales migrate between relatively unproductive tropical or temperate breeding grounds and productive high latitude feeding areas. However, not all individuals of a population undertake the annual migration to the breeding grounds; instead some are thought to remain on the feeding grounds year-round, presumably to avoid the energetic demand...

Loud hydroacoustic sources, such as naval mid-frequency sonars or airguns for marine geophysical prospecting, have been increasingly criticized for their possible negative effects on marine mammals and were implicated in several whale stranding events. Competent authorities now regularly request the implementation of mitigation measures, including...

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Schematic of the STA/LTA algorithm. The example shows the V-shaped blow of a humpback whale. The black curve shows the short term contrast average (STA), the red curve the long term contrast average (LTA) computed from the sequence of snippets above. Blue and pink windows indicate the number of images used to calculate STA and LTA respectively. The...

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Absolute (A) and relative (B) error estimation of image and binocular based distance calculation. It is assumed that the vertical position of a whale in the thermal image is determined with an accuracy of ±1 pixel and with ¼ reticule accuracy using binoculars. Due to the spherical triangulation used to calculate the distance, this results in a dist...

From 13 March to 09 April 2012 Germany conducted a fisheries survey on board RV Polarstern in the Scotia Sea (Elephant Island - South Shetland Island - Joinville Island area) under the auspices of CCAMLR. During this expedition, ANT-XXVIII/4, an opportunistic marine mammal survey was carried out. Data were collected for 26 days along the externally...

From 13 March to 09 April 2012 Germany conducted a fisheries survey on board RV Polarstern in the Scotia Sea (Elephant Island - South Shetland Island - Joinville Island area) under the auspices of CCAMLR. During this expedition, ANT-XXVIII/4, an opportunistic marine mammal survey was carried out. Data were collected for 26 days along the externally...

Shipborne, quasi-continuous visual marine mammal observations for mitigation or research require, while being restricted to daylight hours, the utmost concentration by observers as well as large teams when conducted during month-long cruises. To overcome such limitations, the use of thermal imaging has first been examined in the context of offshore...

During the past two years, the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) prepared a comprehensive, strategic assessment of the risk posed to marine mammals by the use of air guns for scientific, geophysical research in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica (Boebel et al. 2009). This strategic risk assessment focuses not only on a single activity (e.g., a speci...

Marine sound, natural or anthropogenic, has long fascinated scientists, mariners, and the general public. The haunting songs of humpback whales and the pings of antisubmarine sonar, among other sounds from the oceans, convey allure and suspense. Recently, that suspense has moved from television screens to courtrooms, where navies, scientists, and e...

Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research P.O.Box 12016, 27515 Bremerhaven, GERMANY Communicating author: oboebel@awi-bremerhaven.de 1·10 6 m 3 52000·10 6 m 3 dose 2300·10 6 m 3 820000·10 6 m 3 volume 3458 m (T) x 189 m (X-beam) x 2818 m (A-beam) Ø ca.68 km (obere 200 m) Ø ca.20 km (unterhalb 200 m) Extent of 160 dB contour 15.5 kHz 2...

Marine brown algae living as endophytes in macroalgae are morphologically simple and their taxonomy is particularly difficult. A molecular phylogeny for endophytic taxa isolated from kelps and red algae, and for putative epiphytic and free-living relatives, was inferred from partial small subunit and complete internal transcribed spacer nuclear rib...

The recently described microscopic brown alga Laminarionema elsbetiae Kawai et Tokuyama occurs as an endophyte in Laminaria spp. in the northern hemisphere. Based on morphology, cytology, and reproductive characters it is classified in the Ectocarpales. Phylogenetic analyses of partial SSU and ITS sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA of Laminario...

Program description: Since 2005, AWI in cooperation with Reederei Laeisz, systematically and continuously logs all sightings of cetaceans near RV Polarstern in the Southern Ocean (Marine Mammal Perimeter Surveillance, MAPS). A corresponding sighting protocol is maintained by the nautical officer on duty on the bridge of the RV Polarstern. While the...