An echosounder view on the potential effects of impulsive noise pollution on pelagic fish around windfarms in the North Sea

Kok, Annebelle C. M.; Bruil, Lisa; Bergès, Benoît; Sakınan, Serdar; Debusschere, E.; Reubens, Jan; Haan, D. de; Norro, A.; Slabbekoorn, Hans

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118063

Cited by 14 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Sounders that are affixed to stationary moorings (e.g., Horne et al 2010;Urmy et al 2012) provide data over temporal scales of seconds to years but only at the location of the mooring. These types of systems are the "bread and butter" of fisheries echosounders and have been commonly used to survey reefs and platforms (Gerlotto et al 1989;Gledhill et al 1996;Kang et al 2011;Holland et al 2021;Kok et al 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish distribution in three dimensions around the Block Island Wind Farm as observed with conventional and volumetric echosounders

Jech,

Lipsky,

Moran

et al. 2023

Mar Coast Fish

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ObjectiveOffshore wind development is expected to expand rapidly along the East Coast of the United States within the next 10 years and will impact the biology and ecology of the flora and fauna as well as human activities, such as commercial and recreational fishing. The Block Island Wind Farm is a five‐turbine, 30‐MW wind array located about 6 km off the coast of Rhode Island and has been in operation since 2016.MethodsWe conducted a 4‐day acoustical and biological survey of the area during daylight hours to gain insight on the spatial distribution of fish species in and around the turbines. We utilized a hull‐mounted, downward‐looking Simrad 38‐/200‐kHz ES70 and a pole‐mounted iXblue SeapiX steerable Mills Cross, 150‐kHz, 1.6° resolution multibeam echosounder oriented downward to map the two‐ and three‐dimensional distributions using spiral and straight‐line transect patterns. We collected fish by using hook and line to verify the sources of acoustic backscatter and to measure length, sex, and diet.ResultBlack Sea Bass Centropristis striata were the most commonly caught species and appeared to be the primary constituents of the fish aggregations that were mapped by the acoustic systems. We found increased levels of acoustic backscatter within 200 m of the turbine structures, suggesting that they were attractive structures.ConclusionThese levels were not greater than backscatter levels in the surrounding area, suggesting that the proximate effect of the wind array was spatially limited.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish distribution in three dimensions around the Block Island Wind Farm as observed with conventional and volumetric echosounders

Jech,

Lipsky,

Moran

et al. 2023

Mar Coast Fish

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“…Neo et al (2018) found that anthropogenic sounds increase the swimming depth of European seabass and distance from the sound source, which is consistent with the present study in terms of vertical distribution results. In a field study (Kok et al, 2021) have shown that bottom-moored echosounders, representative of a high intensity impulsive intermittent anthropogenic noise, affect the abundance, schooling cohesion behaviour, and swimming depth of pelagic fish. Two recent telemetry tagging studies demonstrated the effects of another intermittent source of sound, seismic surveys, on free-ranging benthic fish species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental sound exposure modifies swimming activities and increases food handling error in adult zebrafish

Mohsenpour¹,

Sabet²

2021

Preprint

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Anthropogenic sound is currently recognized as a source of environmental pollution in terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Elevated sound levels may cause a broad range of impacts on aquatic organisms among taxa. Sound is an important sensory stimulus for aquatic organisms and it may cause fluctuations in stress-related physiological indices and in a broader extent induce behavioural effects such as driving as a distracting stimulus, masking important relevant acoustic signals and cues in a range of marine and freshwater species. However, sound exposure may also induce changes in swimming activities, feed efficiency and productivity of available food sources in fish. Here, we experimentally tested sound effects on swimming activities and foraging performance in thirty adult Zebrafish (Danio rerio) individually in captivity. We used adult zebrafish and water flea (Daphnia magna) as model predator prey, respectively. We also used four sound treatments with different temporal patterns (all in the same frequency range and moderate exposure level). Our results constitute strong evidence for clear sound-related effects on zebrafish behaviour. All sound treatments induced a significant increase in the number of startle response, brief and prolonged swimming speed for zebrafish (P<0.05). Zebrafish reached to the baseline swimming speed after 60 seconds in all treatments. We found partially brief and prolonged sound effects on spatial distribution of zebrafish; Although we did not find any significant sound-related behavioural changes for horizontal spatial displacement in all treatments (P>0.05), zebrafish swam significantly more in the lower layer of the fish tank except irregular intermittent 1:1-7 in brief sound exposure (P<0.05). The results of foraging performance showed that food discrimination error was low for the zebrafish and unaffected by sound treatments (P>0.05). However, food handling error was affected by sound treatments; all treatments caused a rise in handling error (P<0.001). This study highlights the impact of sound on zebrafish swimming activities, and that more attacks are needed to consume the same number of prey items under noisy conditions.

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“…While some research exists on the responses of fishes and aquatic invertebrates to a variety of different sounds, less is known about how sounds specifically emitted from OSW energy development could potentially alter behaviors (e.g., Wahlberg and Westerberg, 2005;Siddagangaiah et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2021). However, the available data suggest that behavioral changes resulting from exposure to sounds from OSW energy development could be a concern for at least some species (e.g., Perrow et al, 2011;Thomsen et al, 2012;Hawkins et al, 2014;Iafrate et al, 2016;Methratta and Dardick, 2019;Kok et al, 2021;Puig-Pons et al, 2021). A range of behavioral changes with potential fitness consequences have been hypothesized, in part, based on observations or inference from responses to other anthropogenic or environmental noise sources.…”

Section: B Conduct Behavioral Response Studies To Examine Non-displac...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Offshore wind energy development: Research priorities for sound and vibration effects on fishes and aquatic invertebrates

Popper

Hice-Dunton²,

Jenkins

et al. 2022

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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There are substantial knowledge gaps regarding both the bioacoustics and the responses of animals to sounds associated with pre-construction, construction, and operations of offshore wind (OSW) energy development. A workgroup of the 2020 State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy identified studies for the next five years to help stakeholders better understand potential cumulative biological impacts of sound and vibration to fishes and aquatic invertebrates as the OSW industry develops. The workgroup identified seven short-term priorities that include a mix of primary research and coordination efforts. Key research needs include the examination of animal displacement and other behavioral responses to sound, as well as hearing sensitivity studies related to particle motion, substrate vibration, and sound pressure. Other needs include: identification of priority taxa on which to focus research; standardization of methods; development of a long-term highly instrumented field site; and examination of sound mitigation options for fishes and aquatic invertebrates. Effective assessment of potential cumulative impacts of sound and vibration on fishes and aquatic invertebrates is currently precluded by these and other knowledge gaps. However, filling critical gaps in knowledge will improve our understanding of possible sound-related impacts of OSW energy development to populations and ecosystems. V

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An echosounder view on the potential effects of impulsive noise pollution on pelagic fish around windfarms in the North Sea

Cited by 14 publications

References 64 publications

Fish distribution in three dimensions around the Block Island Wind Farm as observed with conventional and volumetric echosounders

Fish distribution in three dimensions around the Block Island Wind Farm as observed with conventional and volumetric echosounders

Experimental sound exposure modifies swimming activities and increases food handling error in adult zebrafish

Offshore wind energy development: Research priorities for sound and vibration effects on fishes and aquatic invertebrates

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