Cormac Booth

Degrees and Education

• 2010 University of St Andrews PhD Biology: Variation in distribution and habitat preference of harbour porpoises west of Scotland

• 2003 University of Aberdeen MSc Marine and Fisheries Science

• 2001 University of Wales, Aberystwyth BSc: Marine and Freshwater Biology

Skills and Expertise

Statistical analysis (R – GEEs, GAMs, GLMs), PAM monitoring (PAMBuoy, PAMGUARD, CPODs, TPODs), Databases (MS Access); Word processing (MS Word); Spreadsheets (MS Excel), MMO, GIS (Manifold & ArcGIS), Acoustic analysis (MATLAB), Photo Identification projects.

Specialty

Cormac Booth has been working in the field of marine mammal biology since 2000, both in the UK and abroad, in the laboratory and in the field. He has extensive experience in marine mammal biology, statistics and acoustics (in particular static and towed passive acoustic monitoring techniques and robust modelling approaches). Cormac has developed unique PAM mitigation approaches used on UK marine development sites and analysed extensive acoustic datasets. He has been the Principal Investigator and/or Project Manager for the interim Population Consequences of Disturbance (PCoD) framework project, and numerous PCoD projects for the UK, Canadian, Dutch & USA regulatory bodies and the Office of Naval Research. He has also managed projects spanning a range of sectors and expertise and coordinated teams of diverse expertise to complete objectives. His expertise and experience span:

Assessing anthropogenic impacts on marine mammals: Via working on the initial development, application and evolution of the interim PCOD framework – investigating how the potential impacts of disturbance can be robustly assessed.

Distribution and Ecology of Cetaceans: A range of habitat modelling and GIS techniques and conducting visual and towed-acoustic, line-transect surveys to study habitat preferences and distribution of harbour porpoise.

Marine Mammal Monitoring & Mitigation: Prior to, and during his time with SMRU Consulting, Cormac has worked on several projects developing suitable monitoring and mitigation methods to meet regulatory standards and enabling industry to develop sustainably. He is the scientist responsible for the delivery of several commercial projects involving the use of PAM to monitor cetaceans. Also has extensive experience of conducting and analysing the data generated from different marine mammal monitoring and survey approaches.

Rojas-Bracho, L., Taylor, B., Booth, C., Thomas, L., Jaramillo-Legorreta, A., Nieto-García, E., ... & Bonilla-Garzón, A. (2022). More vaquita porpoises survive than expected. Endangered Species Research, 48, 225-234.

Booth, C. G., Brannan, N., Dunlop, R., Friedlander, A., Isojunno, S., Miller, P., ... & Pirotta, E. (2022). A sampling, exposure and receptor framework for identifying factors that modulate behavioural responses to disturbance in cetaceans. Journal of Animal Ecology.

Thomas, L., Marques, T. A., Booth, C. G., Takeshita, R., & Schwacke, L. (2022). Model predicts catastrophic decline of common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) population under proposed land restoration project in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA. Marine Mammal Science.

Harwood, J; Chudzinska, M; Booth, CG 2022. Final Report: Further development of marine mammal dynamic energy budgets models for application to environmental assessments and integration into the iPCoD framework. SMRUC-MSC-2021-015 provided to Marine Scotland, March 2022 (unpublished).

Joy, R., Schick, R. S., Dowd, M., Margolina, T., Joseph, J. E., & Thomas, L. (2022). A fine-scale marine mammal movement model for assessing long-term aggregate noise exposure. Ecological Modelling, 464, 109798.

Jones‐Todd, C. M., Pirotta, E., Durban, J. W., Claridge, D. E., Baird, R. W., Falcone, E. A., ... & Thomas, L. (2022). Discrete‐space continuous‐time models of marine mammal exposure to Navy sonar. Ecological Applications, 32(1), e02475.

Pirotta, E., Booth, C. G., Calambokidis, J., Costa, D. P., Fahlbusch, J. A., Friedlaender, A. S., ... & Southall, B. L. (2022). From individual responses to population effects: Integrating a decade of multidisciplinary research on blue whales and sonar. Animal Conservation.

Schwacke, L. H., Marques, T. A., Thomas, L., Booth, C. G., Balmer, B. C., Barratclough, A., ... & Smith, C. R. (2022). Modeling population effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a long‐lived species. Conservation Biology, e13878.

McHuron, E. A., Adamczak, S., Arnould, J. P., Ashe, E., Booth, C.G., Bowen, W. D., ... & Williams, R. (2022). Key questions in marine mammal bioenergetics. Conservation physiology, 10(1), coac055.

Booth, C.G., & Thomas, L. (2021, February). An expert elicitation of the effects of low salinity water exposure on bottlenose dolphins. In Oceans (Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 179-192). MDPI.

Pirotta, E., Booth, C. G., Cade, D. E., Calambokidis, J., Costa, D. P., Fahlbusch, J. A., ... & Southall, B. L. (2021). Context-dependent variability in the predicted daily energetic costs of disturbance for blue whales. Conservation physiology, 9(1), coaa137.

Booth, C., Harwood, J., Harris, C., Schick, R., Thomas, L., & New, L. (2020). PCoD+: Developing Widely-Applicable Models of the Population Consequences of Disturbance. SMRU, LLC.

Wilson, L. J., Harwood, J., Booth, C. G., Joy, R., & Harris, C. M. (2020). A decision framework to identify populations that are most vulnerable to the population level effects of disturbance. Conservation Science and Practice, 2(2), e149.

Harwood, J., Booth, C.G., Sinclair, R., & Hague, E. (2020). Developing marine mammal dynamic energy budget models and their potential for integration into the iPCoD framework. Scottish Mar Freshw Sci, 11, 1-80.

Booth, C. G., Sinclair, R. R., & Harwood, J. (2020). Methods for monitoring for the population consequences of disturbance in marine mammals: a review. Frontiers in Marine Science, 115.

Booth, C.G. 2019. Food for thought: Harbor porpoise foraging behavior and diet inform vulnerability to disturbance. Marine Mammal Science. doi/abs/10.1111/mms.12632

Wilson, L.W., Harwood, J., Booth C.G. & Harris, C.M. Harris. 2019. A decision framework to identify populations that are most vulnerable to the population level effects of disturbance. Conservation Science and Practice, e149.

Pirotta, E., Booth, C.G., D. P. Costa, E. Fleishman, S. D. Kraus, D. Lusseau, D. Moretti, L. F. New, R. S. Schick, and L. K. Schwarz. 2018. Understanding the population consequences of disturbance. Ecology and Evolution. doi/full/10.1002/ece3.4458.

Thomas, L., Booth, C.G., Rosel, PE., Hohn, A., Litz, J. & Schwacke, LH. (2017). Where were they from? Modelling the source stock of dolphins stranded after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill using genetic and stable isotope data. Endangered Species Research Vol. 33: 253-264.

Booth, C.G., Oedekoven, C.S., Gillespie, D., Macaulay, J., Plunkett, R, Joy, R., Harris, D., Wood, J., Marques, T.A., Marshall, L., Verfuss, U.K., Tyack, P. Johnson, M., & Thomas, L. 2017. Assessing the Viability of Density Estimation for Cetaceans from Passive Acoustic Fixed Sensors throughout the Life Cycle of an Offshore E&P Field Development. Report number: SMRUC-OGP-2017-001. Submitted to IOGP Sound and Marine Life Joint Industry Programme (Unpublished).

Booth, C.G., Plunkett, R & Harwood, J. 2017. Identifying Monitoring Priorities for Population Consequences of Disturbance – Interim Report. Report Code SMRUC-ONR-2017-017, submitted to the Office of Naval Research – Marine Mammal & Biology program, Nov 2017 (unpublished).

Booth, C.G., Harwood, J., Plunkett, R., Mendes, S. & Walker, R. (2017). Using the Interim PCoD framework to assess the potential impacts of offshore wind developments in Eastern English Waters on harbour porpoises in the North Sea. Natural England Joint Report, Number 024 York.

Booth, C.G. (2016). The Challenge of Using Passive Acoustic Monitoring in High Energy Environments: UK Tidal Environments and Other Case Studies. Popper, A.N. and A. Hawkins. (Eds), The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life II. Springer, New York.

Booth, C.G., Donovan, C., Plunkett, R & Harwood, J. 2016. Using an interim PCoD protocol to assess the effects of disturbance associated with us navy exercises on marine mammal populations: Final Report. Report code SMRUC-ONR-2016-004, submitted to the Office of Naval Research – Marine Mammal & Biology program, February 2016 (unpublished).

Harwood, J. & Booth, C.G. 2016. The application of an interim PCoD (PCoD Lite) protocol and its extension to other marine mammal populations and sites. Final Report. Report code SMRUC-ONR-2016-004, submitted to the Office of Naval Research – Marine Mammal & Biology program, February 2016 (unpublished).

Donovan, C., Harwood, J, King, S., Booth, C., Caneco, B., & Walker, C. (2016). Expert elicitation methods in quantifying the consequences of acoustic disturbance from offshore renewable energy developments. In: Popper A.N., Hawkins A.D. (eds) Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life II. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 875, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4939-2981-8_27. Springer, New York

King, S. L., Schick, R. S., Donovan, C., Booth, C. G., Burgman, M., Thomas, L., & Harwood, J. (2015). An interim framework for assessing the population consequences of disturbance. Methods in Ecology and Evolution doi:10.1111/2041-210X.12411

Booth C.G., Embling C., Gordon J., Calderan S.V., Hammond P.S. 2013. Habitat preferences and distribution of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) west of Scotland. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 478:273-285.

Booth, C.G., Lacey, C., Hastie, G.D. 2011. Interim Report – July 2011 – Static acoustic monitoring of harbour porpoise and dolphins at the proposed jetty construction site – Hinkley. SMRU Ltd Interim Report to CEFAS. July 2011.

Booth, C. G. Impacts of Commercial Aquaculture Acoustic Devices on harbour porpoises west of Scotland. Chapter of PhD Thesis. Department of Biology. Scottish Oceans Institute. University of St Andrews.

Key Projects

• Population Consequences of Disturbance – Project manager and PI/Co-PI for a series of projects involving the development of PCoD models (clients include: UK regulators and SNCBs; Office of Naval Research; Netherlands Min. Environment & NOAA.). Most recent work has focused on better understanding the data gaps in PCoD, energetic pathways relating to disturbance, integrating across different spatial and temporal scales from behavioural changes through to population level effects.

• Expert elicitation – Lead in the development and uses of expert elicitation techniques for addressing critical knowledge gaps for marine issues.

• Queensferry Crossing Monitoring & Mitigation – Delivered marine mammal mitigation and 3 years of continuous underwater noise monitoring and mitigation during the construction of the Forth Replacement (Queensferry) Crossing using a novel PAMBuouy (now Decimus) system.

• Monitoring the population consequence of disturbance – Advancing our knowledge of the most viable approaches to monitoring for and detecting (where occurring) changes in marine mammal populations.

• Strangford Lough monitoring – Processed and analysed a six year PAM dataset and conducted GAM GEE model analyses to determine patterns of harbour porpoise vocalisation on the site.

Project list also includes:

• PCoD East of England CIA

• PCoD Netherlands CIA

• PCoD Lite ONR

• Aquatera Impact Tool

• Suffolk Nuclear Power Station

• Minesto Holyhead Deep EIA

• Minesto Strangford Lough Demonstration Site

• Invergordon PAM Monitoring

Phone: +44 (0) 1314 638 555

Email: cgb@smruconsulting.com

Mail: Scottish Oceans Institute

East Sands

University of St Andrews

KY16 8LB

Scotland