title: The Challenges of Analyzing Behavioral Response Study Data: An Overview of the MOCHA (Multi-study OCean Acoustics Human Effects Analysis) Project.
abstract: This paper describes the MOCHA project which aims to develop novel approaches for the analysis of data collected during Behavioral Response Studies (BRSs). BRSs are experiments aimed at directly quantifying the effects of controlled dosages of natural or anthropogenic stimuli (typically sound) on marine mammal behavior. These experiments typically result in low sample size, relative to variability, and so we are looking at a number of studies in combination to maximize the gain from each one. We describe a suite of analytical tools applied to BRS data on beaked whales, including a simulation study aimed at informing future experimental design.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, The Observatory, Buchanan Gardens, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9LZ, UK. catriona@mcs.st-and.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Catriona M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, The Observatory, Buchanan Gardens, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9LZ, UK. len@mcs.st-and.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Len
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, The Observatory, Buchanan Gardens, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9LZ, UK. dina@mcs.st-and.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sadykova
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, The Observatory, Buchanan Gardens, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9LZ, UK. sldr@st-andrews.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Stacy L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: DeRuiter
authors.affiliation: Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9LZ, UK. plt@st-andrews.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Tyack
authors.affiliation: Southall Environmental Associates, Inc, Aptos, CA, USA. Brandon.Southall@sea-inc.net.
authors.forename: Brandon L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Southall
authors.affiliation: Duke Marine Lab, Beaufort, NC, USA. aread@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Read
authors.affiliation: Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9LZ, UK. pm29@st-andrews.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Patrick J O
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D035501:Uncertainty; D014907:Whales / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Cetaceans; Change-point; Dose–response; Sonar; State-space modelling