Abstract or Keywords
Nonlethal firing of projectiles at bottlenose whales is used increasingly to obtain data for management and conservation purposes, but behavior impacts of this sampling method have not been assessed. Reactions of northern bottlenose whales to either biopsy darting or tag attachment procedures were studied in the Atlantic Ocean off eastern Canada. Most reactions were low level and short-term. Stronger responses occurred with hits than with misses. Tag and biopsy hits had similar behavioral responses. The prior behavioral state of whales affected the magnitude of reactions to both hits and misses. For example, whales lying still at the surface had stronger reactions than when traveling or than milling whales showed. Sea state also affected reactions to misses, with a greater response more likely in calm waters. These differences are important to consider so that reactions to tagging/biopsy darting do not confound behavioral studies.