Seasonal and Diurnal Patterns of Harbor Porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) Behavior and the Disruptive Effects of Vessel Presence in a High‐Traffic Coastal Habitat

Abstract

Chronic anthropogenic activity is an ongoing threat to the marine environment and presents unique challenges in shallow, coastal habitats where harbor porpoises reside. Harbor porpoises have high metabolic needs and are highly susceptible to negative environmental factors; however, no long‐term studies have been conducted on wild populations to quantify the negative impacts of vessel presence on their behavior. To evaluate this impact on harbor porpoises in the Little Belt, Denmark, data from a static hydrophone array were used to distinguish porpoise click train events and quantify buzzes (vocalizations with an inter‐click interval

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