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Trigger Analysis

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Leah M Crowe edited this page Jun 9, 2023 · 7 revisions

Dynamic right whale Slow Zone analysis

This feature is only available on the network

This App is for use by the hotline holder or an acoustic analyst to evaluate if visual sightings or acoustic detections trigger dynamic right whale Slow Zones.

1. Select whether you want to evaluate “Visual Sightings” or “Acoustic Detections”.

2. Date: Select the date of sightings or detections to evaluate.

3. Click “Query Database”.

4. You have the option to unselect sightings/detections, which you would do, for example, when sightings are reported by different sources and there is a chance the sightings are of the same animal(s). The selected sightings/detections at this phase are the ones used for the trigger analysis.

5. Click “Evaluate”

  • A table is displayed that mimics the sightings/detections selected for evaluation above, but this table has only some of the columns. The column to pay attention to is the “ACTION_NEW”. If this value is different from the "ACTION" value in the database, you have to go into the sightings and edit this.
  • A map displays with sightings/detections and current and triggered protections zones.

6. “Upload to database”, “Download Report”, and “Download KML” the same as #2 in Aerial Survey Processing App, SAS & DMA Evaluation Tab.

7. For the DMA Letter for visual sightings, you will need to specify in the text box who the source(s) of the sighting(s) was/were, then download the letter. For acoustic detections, this is generated automatically from the platform that recorded the call.

Example scenarios

The below dates are examples of different scenarios the 'Trigger Analysis' app navigates. Instances where Slow Zones are triggered have report outputs available as downloads below. For other examples, please check out WhaleMap (NOTE: WhaleMap does not display dynamic Slow Zones that have expired more than 2 weeks from the current time).

Visual detections

  1. Whales detected outside of Slow Zones (Seasonal Management Areas (SMA) and Dynamic Management Areas (DMAs)), but not at the trigger density: 18 May 2023
  2. Visual whale detections triggered a new DMA: 11 May 2023
  3. Visual whale threshold detected in an SMA: 08 May 2023
  4. Visual whale threshold detected in an active DMA: 20 Apr 2023
  5. Visual whale threshold detected in an active DMA eligible for extension: 10 Mar 2023
  6. Visual whale detections triggered multiple DMAs (both extension/s and new zone/s): 25 Apr 2023
  7. Visual whale threshold detected in an acoustically triggered Slow Zone (the visual trigger overrides the acoustic): 08 Jan 2023
  8. No whales visually detected: 31 May 2023

Acoustic detections

  1. Upcall threshold detected that triggered a new Slow Zone: 22 Feb 2023
  2. Upcall threshold detected in an SMA: 28 May 2023
  3. Upcall threshold detected in an active Slow Zone: 23 Feb 2023
  4. Upcall threshold detected in an active Slow Zone eligible for extension: 04 Mar 2023
  5. No upcalls detected: 31 May 2023
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