DID YOU KNOW? DTIC has over 3.5 million final reports on DoD funded research, development, test, and evaluation activities available to our registered users. Click
HERE to register or log in.
Accession Number:
AD1013974
Title:
PCoD Lite - Using an Interim PCoD Protocol to Assess the Effects of Disturbance Associated with US Navy Exercises on Marine Mammal Populations
Descriptive Note:
Technical Report
Corporate Author:
SMRU Consulting Europe St Andrews United Kingdom
Report Date:
2015-09-30
Pagination or Media Count:
7.0
Abstract:
The approach is being developed in this project has the potential for operational use by the US Navy as part of its environmental impact assessments. In future, these assessments will likely be required to provide information on the potential population-level consequences of exposure to anthropogenic noise from Navy activities as well as the number of animals that are exposed. In order to issue an incidental harassment authorization to the US Navy under the Marine Mammal Protection Act MMPA, the Office of Protected Resources must ensure that the specified activity cannot be reasonably expected to, and is not reasonably likely to, adversely affect the species or stock through effects on annual rates of recruitment or survival. Under the Endangered Species Act ESA, jeopardy decisions are made where jeopardy occurs when an action is reasonably expected, directly or indirectly, to diminish a species numbers, reproduction, or distribution so that the likelihood of survival and recovery in the wild is appreciably reduced. We have recently developed an interim protocol Harwood et al. 2014 King, et al. 2015 that can be used to implement the framework for assessing the population consequences of acoustic disturbance for marine mammals originally developed by a panel appointed by the US National Research Council NRC 2005. Here, we provide an insight into how the Interim PCoD approach Harwood et al. 2014, King et al. 2015 might be used to inform the science that underpins Navy Environmental Impact Statements.
Distribution Statement:
APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE