Long-term monitoring of Ziphius cavirostris behavior using 3D tracking from fixed hydrophone arrays off Southern California

Long-term monitoring of Ziphius cavirostris behavior using 3D tracking from fixed hydrophone arrays off Southern California | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Long-term monitoring of Ziphius cavirostris behavior using 3D tracking from fixed hydrophone arrays off Southern California Lauren M. Baggett, Eric R. Snyder, Alba Solsona Berga, Isabelle J. Curran, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6348105/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 19 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Goose-beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) are a deep-diving toothed whale species and top predators in deep sea ecosystems. Much is yet to be learned about their social and foraging strategies due to their elusive behavior, but this information isincreasingly relevant given their demonstrated behavioral changes in association with anthropogenic sound. This study useddirection-of-arrival (DOA) localization to track the position of goose-beaked whales from echolocation clicks recorded onseafloor-mounted hydrophone arrays offshore Southern California. Overall, 2,738 tracks of diving goose-beaked whales wereprocessed from acoustic recordings collected at four long-term monitoring sites between 2018 and 2023. Results highlightdistinct spatial use patterns driven by bathymetric features at each site, with whales foraging closer to the seafloor at siteswith complex bathymetry and showing a preference for canyon slopes. Group sizes at depth ranged from 1 to 9 individualswith a mean of 2.34 and exhibited site-specific seasonal variability as well as a strong diel trend at one site. During manyof these encounters, individuals exhibited highly coordinated behaviors. This study demonstrates the value of long-termpassive acoustic tracking for studying elusive, deep-diving species and provides significant advancements in understandinggoose-beaked whale behavior at depth over long time scales. Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Behavioural ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Conservation Ziphius cavirostris Cuvier’s beaked whale bioacoustics localization foraging diving Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Baggett25ZcSRsubmissionSupplement.docx supplementalGIFs.zip Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 19 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 18 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 17 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 01 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 16 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 15 Apr, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 15 Apr, 2025 Editor invited by journal 09 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 09 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 31 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6348105","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":445679456,"identity":"1833d752-75e2-4043-a85c-522ad8463e21","order_by":0,"name":"Lauren M. Baggett","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAy0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPgkogx9E8DAwMDYQ0sIG0WIgIdlAshaDA0RrkW5+/PJLxZ864xvJjz+8YbCR3XCAkBaZY2bWMmcMJMxupJlJzmFIMyasRSLBzFiyDaQlh42Zh+FwIhFa0r8ZS/4zkDCekcP8mYfhPzFacowffmwAel8ih0Gah+EAEVpkzpQxMxwzlpxx5hnQLwbJxjMJaeGXbt/88UeNHD9/OyjEKuxk+whpAVkEdA8MGBBWDgLMH38Qp3AUjIJRMApGKgAA/jw/Hq7oVsIAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"University of California, San Diego","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lauren","middleName":"M.","lastName":"Baggett","suffix":""},{"id":445679458,"identity":"562dbcf5-bfc1-4179-a45c-88b26f360951","order_by":1,"name":"Eric R. Snyder","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of California, San Diego","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eric","middleName":"R.","lastName":"Snyder","suffix":""},{"id":445679459,"identity":"8c2d5c0f-71a0-4658-af15-83a88089a8fc","order_by":2,"name":"Alba Solsona Berga","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of California, San Diego","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alba","middleName":"Solsona","lastName":"Berga","suffix":""},{"id":445679460,"identity":"5c88799f-eb28-41b6-a3c1-afd7d0c73704","order_by":3,"name":"Isabelle J. Curran","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of California, San Diego","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Isabelle","middleName":"J.","lastName":"Curran","suffix":""},{"id":445679461,"identity":"fb5846de-6235-4b68-befa-bef14ec74b46","order_by":4,"name":"Sean M. Wiggins","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of California, San Diego","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sean","middleName":"M.","lastName":"Wiggins","suffix":""},{"id":445679463,"identity":"19ca3dae-13d1-436d-a6f2-c047450fe600","order_by":5,"name":"John A. Hildebrand","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of California, San Diego","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"John","middleName":"A.","lastName":"Hildebrand","suffix":""},{"id":445679465,"identity":"ee05fd07-06e1-40b6-876f-58624acd66b1","order_by":6,"name":"Ana Širović","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Norwegian University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ana","middleName":"","lastName":"Širović","suffix":""},{"id":445679466,"identity":"cd441105-3e9d-4ba2-a60a-94530a378bc0","order_by":7,"name":"Kaitlin E. Frasier","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of California, San Diego","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kaitlin","middleName":"E.","lastName":"Frasier","suffix":""},{"id":445679467,"identity":"9d069ff9-74e9-47f2-8b98-bc3bd0a40445","order_by":8,"name":"Simone Baumann-Pickering","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of California, San Diego","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Simone","middleName":"","lastName":"Baumann-Pickering","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-03-31 23:38:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6348105/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6348105/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-24490-x","type":"published","date":"2025-11-19T15:58:36+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":96650366,"identity":"b9e1b446-cc97-459b-a1e2-22521374df26","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-24 16:11:34","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1883037,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Baggett25ZcSRsubmissionOverleaf.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6348105/v1_covered_5af72f1c-1145-4bc4-aa46-08d97ad04660.pdf"},{"id":81358020,"identity":"c64f1735-9b8b-4bff-8296-308647e72e39","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-25 07:55:18","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1594665,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Baggett25ZcSRsubmissionSupplement.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6348105/v1/ea95ab7bccfcf219ae87a998.docx"},{"id":81357125,"identity":"37195c61-288c-4d2f-88e9-e19221e1a114","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-25 07:47:20","extension":"zip","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":40025801,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"supplementalGIFs.zip","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6348105/v1/97eef21a08cd4b5300cae542.zip"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Long-term monitoring of Ziphius cavirostris behavior using 3D tracking from fixed hydrophone arrays off Southern California","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Ziphius cavirostris, Cuvier’s beaked whale, bioacoustics, localization, foraging, diving","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6348105/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6348105/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Goose-beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) are a deep-diving toothed whale species and top predators in deep sea ecosystems. Much is yet to be learned about their social and foraging strategies due to their elusive behavior, but this information isincreasingly relevant given their demonstrated behavioral changes in association with anthropogenic sound. This study useddirection-of-arrival (DOA) localization to track the position of goose-beaked whales from echolocation clicks recorded onseafloor-mounted hydrophone arrays offshore Southern California. Overall, 2,738 tracks of diving goose-beaked whales wereprocessed from acoustic recordings collected at four long-term monitoring sites between 2018 and 2023. Results highlightdistinct spatial use patterns driven by bathymetric features at each site, with whales foraging closer to the seafloor at siteswith complex bathymetry and showing a preference for canyon slopes. Group sizes at depth ranged from 1 to 9 individualswith a mean of 2.34 and exhibited site-specific seasonal variability as well as a strong diel trend at one site. During manyof these encounters, individuals exhibited highly coordinated behaviors. This study demonstrates the value of long-termpassive acoustic tracking for studying elusive, deep-diving species and provides significant advancements in understandinggoose-beaked whale behavior at depth over long time scales.","manuscriptTitle":"Long-term monitoring of Ziphius cavirostris behavior using 3D tracking from fixed hydrophone arrays off Southern California","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-04-25 07:47:13","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6348105/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-05-19T02:39:24+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-05-17T08:04:09+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-05-01T20:32:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"122925684151450006106188781810723616598","date":"2025-04-21T09:46:52+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"278750079308588374020943247927748505461","date":"2025-04-16T04:15:21+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-04-16T02:47:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-04-16T02:43:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-04-09T15:46:04+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-04-09T04:14:34+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-03-31T23:36:18+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"8f718487-35c5-4d7b-bc9c-285bb7ae6214","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 25th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":47441774,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences"},{"id":47441775,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology"},{"id":47441776,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Behavioural ecology"},{"id":47441777,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Conservation"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-24T16:07:06+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-6348105","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-24490-x","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2025-11-19 15:58:36","publishedOnDateReadable":"November 19th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-04-25 07:47:13","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-025-24490-x","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-24490-x","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6348105","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6348105","identity":"rs-6348105","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}