MATOS - Mid-Atlantic Acoustic Telemetry Observation System

Project Title: Mount Desert Rock Passive Acoustic/Telemetry Monitoring Project

MATOS Project Code: MRDPATMP

Data Type: Deployment

Project Duration: July 2024 - on-going

Project Description: The Mount Desert Rock (MDR) Passive Acoustic/Telemetry Monitoring Project aims to monitor, quantify, and track local marine megafauna. MDR is a three-acre island located 26 nm south of Mount Desert Island, Maine. Its bathymetric profile allows for intense upcycling of nutrients, thereby creating an area rich in biological productivity. In addition to passive acoustic recorders targeting cetacean presence, the project utilizes VR2AR fish tag detectors in order to track the northward expansion of white sharks into the upper GoM. In the last 10 years, sightings of shark-bitten seals have increased dramatically, suggesting white sharks may be becoming more common in the area. Two receivers in 2024 were located 1 nm to the east and northeast of MDR's lighthouse. We are hoping to increase the number of receivers for the summer of 2025. There was an adjacent Wounded Seal Survey conducted from the island that monitored for evidence of white shark interaction within MDR's seal colony.

Objectives:

Assess impact of GWS on seal populations
Monitor habitat expansion of GWS

Principal Investigator:	Megan Maloney (College of the Atlantic)
Email:	mmaloney26@coa.edu

Point of Contact:	Megan Maloney
Email:	mmaloney26@coa.edu

Collaborators:

Christopher Tremblay (University of Maine Orono)
Dan DenDanto (Allied Whale)
Sean Todd (Allied Whale)

Participating Organizations:

University of Maine Orono
Allied Whale
College of the Atlantic

Funding:

Maine SeaGrant
Maine Space Grant Consortium

MDR Great White Shark Project