Increasing the Awareness of Animal Welfare Science in Marine Mammal Conservation: Addressing Language, Translation and Reception Issues

Underwater sound of three unoccupied aerial vehicles at varying altitudes and horizontal distances

Unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs), or "drones," are increasingly used as a tool for cetacean research, but knowledge about how these tools contribute to underwater sound is lacking. In this study, underwater sound levels of three commonly used UAV models (Mavic Pro Platinum, Phantom 4 Pro v2.0, Inspire 1 Pro) were recorded. For each model, three replicate flights were conducted at 36 positions at standardized horizontal (0-30 m) and vertical (2-40 m) distances from a hydrophone (1 m depth). Median broadband received levels of the Inspire were highest at 96.5 dBrms 141-17 783 Hz re 1 μPa2, followed by the Phantom (92.4 dBrms 141-17 783 Hz re 1 μPa2) and Mavic, which was quietest (85.9 dBrms 141-17 783 Hz re 1 μPa2). Median ambient sound levels in the absence of an UAV were 82.7 dBrms 141-17 783 Hz re 1 μPa2. Significant increases in ambient sound levels associated with UAV flights occurred at higher altitudes than previously reported, and received levels decreased more with increasing horizontal distance of the UAV than with altitude. To minimize potential noise impacts on sensitive marine animal subjects, we recommend increasing horizontal distance to the animal, rather than altitude, and choosing the quietest UAV feasible.

Skin Cortisol and Acoustic Activity: Potential Tools to Evaluate Stress and Welfare in Captive Cetaceans

As people's focus broadens from animals on farms to zoos and aquaria, the field of welfare science and the public's concern for animal welfare continue to grow. In captive animals, stress and its causes are topics of interest in welfare issues, and the identification of an objective method that can be used to assess animals' stress as a physiological state is essential. Both behavioral and physiological parameters can be used as indicators in order to assess animal stress quantitatively. To validate this approach, acoustic activity and the sloughed scrape skin cortisol concentration were used to evaluate the animal welfare of captive beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). The acoustic activity (5 min at 10:00 am) of three captive D. leucas was routinely recorded by a transducer and analyzed using audio editing software. The calls were separated into three main categories: whistles, pulses, and combo calls. The sloughed scrape skin samples were collected non-invasively once a week from all three animals' fluke and/or flipper. Cortisol was extracted using a modified skin steroid extraction technique, and detected via commercially available enzyme immunoassays. The results showed that the cortisol concentration increased by varying levels when the whales encountered the same event. In addition, the number and distribution of the calls changed along with the events. This indicated that the changes in the cortisol concentration and acoustic behavior may have reflected the fluctuations in the environment and body condition. Therefore, the scrape cortisol measurement and acoustic recordings could be used to monitor stress levels in captive beluga whales. We recommend that aquaria consider incorporating skin scrape cortisol and acoustic activity monitoring into their standards for animal welfare.

Expert assessment of the impact of ship-strikes on cetacean welfare using the Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans

Human activities are increasingly impacting our oceans and the focus tends to be on their environmental impacts, rather than consequences for animal welfare. Global shipping density has quadrupled since 1992. Unsurprisingly, increased levels of vessel collisions with cetaceans have followed this global expansion of shipping. This paper is the first to attempt to consider the severity of ship-strike on individual whale welfare. The methodology of the 'Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans' (WATWC) was used, which is itself based upon the Five Domains model. Expert opinion was sought on six hypothetical but realistic case studies involving humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) struck by ships. Twenty-nine experts in the cetacean and welfare sector took part. They were split into two groups; Group 1 first assessed a case we judged to be the least severe and Group 2 first assessed the most severe. Both groups then additionally assessed the same four further cases. This was to investigate whether the severity of the first case influenced judgements regarding subsequent cases (i.e. expert judgements were relative) or not (i.e. judgements were absolute). No significant difference between the two groups of assessors was found; therefore, the hypothesis of relative scoring was rejected. Experts judged whales may suffer some level (>1) of overall (Domain 5) harm for the rest of their lives following a ship-strike incident. Health, closely followed by Behaviour were found to be the welfare aspects most affected by ship-strikes. Overall, the WATWC shows a robust potential to aid decision-making on wild cetacean welfare.

Marine mammal conservation in the 21st century: A plea for a paradigm shift towards mindful conservation

Marine mammals are regarded in high esteem by the general public, and are recognized as flagship species for conservation, while at the same time they suffer from anthropogenic impacts on a global scale, and often in extreme ways. It seems there is a huge discrepancy between how we humans think about our fellow creatures in the sea, and how we behave to impact and/or conserve them. Here, I examine why the purely scientific and thus intellectual approach to marine mammal conservation has had limited success over the past decades. While there are some obvious success stories in cetacean conservation, the situation today is, for many species and populations, more dire than it has ever been. The idea of 'we need to know more'-a credo of the scientific community-often is politically misrepresented to postpone necessary conservation decisions. To adapt our path towards more profound and, importantly, more effective marine conservation, as conservationists we need to go deeper and change the narrative of separation, i.e., the concept of humans being set apart from the rest of nature. Instead, there is a need to create a narrative of connectedness, i.e., the consciousness of humans being an integral part of the planetary system. Rather than telling horror stories about the plight of marine mammals, conservationists also need to trigger positive emotions about them in ourselves. More holistic aspects of conservation need to be incorporated in our future efforts, including the fuller integration of traditional knowledge and indigenous wisdom, recognizing ecosystem functions of marine life and protecting the processes they sustain, respecting 'holiness' of nature while focusing on the animals' individuality, personhood and the cultural identity of distinct communities. Effective marine mammal conservation will be possible only on the basis of a profound change of our own values and a fundamental change of the societal system we are living in.

Identification of potential welfare and survival indicators for stranded cetaceans through international, interdisciplinary expert opinion

Management of live cetacean strandings generally focuses on refloating animals, yet there is a lack of scientific data to inform decision-making. Valid indicators that are practical to measure are needed to assess welfare status and survival likelihood for stranded cetaceans. The Delphi method was applied to gather international and interdisciplinary expert opinion to provide face validity to potential indicators of stranded cetacean welfare and survival likelihood. Two online questionnaires were conducted. In the first questionnaire these experts identified potential indicators of stranded cetacean welfare and survival likelihood. These indicators were subsequently scored by the same experts in questionnaire two, based on their value for assessing welfare/survival likelihood and being practical to measure. Indicators considered valuable and practical for assessing welfare and survival likelihood at strandings included animal-based indices of body and skin condition, signs of physical trauma, respiration rate and various behaviours. Resource-/management-based indicators related mainly to human intervention and should be correlated with animal-based indices to provide relevant evaluations. Importantly, inextricable links between welfare and survival for stranded cetaceans are emphasized, with 90% of indicators being similar for both. Investigations into these indicators should be conducted to develop a practical, science-based assessment framework to inform decision-making during stranding events.

Evaluating Potential Cetacean Welfare Indicators from Video of Live Stranded Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas edwardii)

Despite the known benefit of considering welfare within wildlife conservation and management, there remains a lack of data to inform such evaluations. To assess animal welfare, relevant information must be captured scientifically and systematically. A key first step is identifying potential indicators of welfare and the practicality of their measurement. We assessed the feasibility of evaluating potential welfare indicators from opportunistically gathered video footage of four stranded odontocete species (n = 53) at 14 stranding events around New Zealand. The first stranded cetacean ethogram was compiled, including 30 different behaviours, 20 of which were observed in all four species. Additionally, thirteen types of human intervention were classified. A subset of 49 live stranded long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas edwardii) were assessed to determine indicator prevalence and to quantify behaviours. Four ‘welfare status’ and six ‘welfare alerting’ non-behavioural indicators could be consistently evaluated from the footage. Additionally, two composite behavioural indicators were feasible. Three human intervention types (present, watering, and touching) and five animal behaviours (tail flutter, dorsal fin flutter, head lift, tail lift, and head side-to-side) were prevalent (>40% of individuals). Our study highlights the potential for non-invasive, remote assessments via video footage and represents an initial step towards developing a systematic, holistic welfare assessment framework for stranded cetaceans.

Fundamental Concepts, Knowledge Gaps and Key Concerns Relating to Welfare and Survival of Stranded Cetaceans

Wildlife management can influence animal welfare and survival, although both are often not explicitly integrated into decision making. This study explores fundamental concepts and key concerns relating to the welfare and survival of stranded cetaceans. Using the Delphi method, the opinions of an international, interdisciplinary expert panel were gathered, regarding the characterisation of stranded cetacean welfare and survival likelihood, knowledge gaps and key concerns. Experts suggest that stranded cetacean welfare should be characterised based on interrelated aspects of animals’ biological function, behaviour, and mental state and the impacts of human interventions. The characterisation of survival likelihood should reflect aspects of stranded animals’ biological functioning and behaviour as well as a 6-month post-re-floating survival marker. Post-release monitoring was the major knowledge gap for survival. Welfare knowledge gaps related to diagnosing internal injuries, interpreting behavioural and physiological parameters, and euthanasia decision making. Twelve concerns were highlighted for both welfare and survival likelihood, including difficulty breathing and organ compression, skin damage and physical traumas, separation from conspecifics, and suffering and stress due to stranding and human intervention. These findings indicate inextricable links between perceptions of welfare state and the likely survival of stranded cetaceans and demonstrate a need to integrate welfare science alongside conservation biology to achieve effective, ethical management at strandings.