Effects of Underwater Explosions on Larval Fish: Implications for a Coastal Engineering Project

Govoni, John J.; West, Melissa; Settle, Lawrence R.; Lynch, Robert D.; Greene, Michael D.

doi:10.2112/05-0518.1

Cited by 28 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…While direct evidence is rather limited in the literature, nuclear detonations in proximity to aquatic environments have been shown to result in large fish population die-offs (Kirkwood 1970;Merritt 1970Merritt , 1973Kirkwood and Fuller 1972;Planes et al 2005) demonstrating similar impacts to conventional ordinance explosion on fish mortality on a much larger scale (Govoni et al 2008;Popper and Hastings 2009). This is primarily a result of the anatomical design of teleost fish having a gas-filled swim bladder that is easily ruptured upon exposure to large pressure differentials (Simenstad 1974;Yelvertton et al 1975;Baxter et al 1982;Planes et al 2005;Popper and Hastings 2009).…”

Section: Blast Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of modern war and military activities on biodiversity and the environment

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:War is an ever-present force that has the potential to alter the biosphere. Here we review the potential consequences of modern war and military activities on ecosystem structure and function. We focus on the effects of direct conflict, nuclear weapons, military training, and military produced contaminants. Overall, the aforementioned activities were found to have overwhelmingly negative effects on ecosystem structure and function. Dramatic habitat alteration, environmental pollution, and disturbance contributed to population declines and biodiversity losses arising from both acute and chronic effects in both terrestrial and aquatic systems. In some instances, even in the face of massive alterations to ecosystem structure, recovery was possible. Interestingly, military activity was beneficial under specific conditions, such as when an exclusion zone was generated that generally resulted in population increases and (or) population recovery; an observation noted in both terrestrial and aquatic systems. Additionally, military technological advances (e.g., GPS technology, drone technology, biotelemetry) have provided conservation scientists with novel tools for research. Because of the challenges associated with conducting research in areas with military activities (e.g., restricted access, hazardous conditions), information pertaining to military impacts on the environment are relatively scarce and are often studied years after military activities have ceased and with no knowledge of baseline conditions. Additional research would help to elucidate the environmental consequences (positive and negative) and thus reveal opportunities for mitigating negative effects while informing the development of optimal strategies for rehabilitation and recovery.Key words: war, biodiversity, ecosystem structure, conflict, military activities, environment, conservation biology.Résumé : La guerre est une force omniprésente ayant le potentiel d'altérer l'atmosphère. Les auteurs passent en revue les conséquences potentielles des activités guerrières et militaires modernes sur la structure et le fonctionnement des écosystèmes. On met l'accent sur les effets directs et indirects des conflits, des armes nucléaires, des entrainements militaires et des contaminants des produits militaires. Dans l'ensemble, on constate que les activités préalablement mentionnées ont des effets négatifs écrasants sur la structure et le fonctionnement des écosystèmes. Avec des altérations dramatiques des habitats, la pollution et les perturbations environnementales contribuent au déclin des populations et aux pertes de biodiversité provenant des effets aigus et chroniques sur les systèmes terrestres aussi bien qu'aquatiques. Tout de même dans certains cas, en présence d'altérations massives de la structure des écosystèmes, la récupération s'est avérée possible. Il est intéressant de noter qu'une activité militaire fut bénéfique sous des conditions spécifiques telles que la création d'une zone d'exclusion, en générant des augmentations générales des p...

show abstract

Section: Blast Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of modern war and military activities on biodiversity and the environment

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It has also been shown that the effects on fish decline rapidly with distance from the explosion ( e.g . Houghton & Mundy, 1987; Goertner, 1994; Govoni et al ., 2008) as the peak overpressure and impulse ( i.e . time integral of the pressure waveform) decreases.…”

Section: Effects On Fish From Exposure To Soundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Govoni et al . (2003, 2008) also concluded that an energy metric, the acoustic ‘impulse’ (the integral of the pressure waveform over time with units in psi‐ms or Pa‐s), correlated with observed effects of submarine detonations on juvenile and larval pinfish Lagodon rhomboides (L.) and spot Leiostomus xanthurus Lacépède.…”

Section: Effects On Fish From Exposure To Soundmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of anthropogenic sources of sound on fishes

Popper

Hastings

2009

Journal of Fish Biology

342

270

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is increasing concern about the effects of pile driving and other anthropogenic (human-generated) sound on fishes. Although there is a growing body of reports examining this issue, little of the work is found in the peer-reviewed literature. This review critically examines both the peer-reviewed and 'grey' literature, with the goal of determining what is known and not known about effects on fish. A companion piece provides an analysis of the available data and applies it to estimate noise exposure criteria for pile driving and other impulsive sounds. The critical literature review concludes that very little is known about effects of pile driving and other anthropogenic sounds on fishes, and that it is not yet possible to extrapolate from one experiment to other signal parameters of the same sound, to other types of sounds, to other effects, or to other species.

show abstract

“…Pile driving can produce sounds that exceed 180 dB. Gas oscillations induced by high sound pressure levels can cause the swim bladder to tear or rupture (Govoni et al, 2003;Govoni et al, 2008). Engas et al (1996) reported a significant reduction in catch rates of haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) for up to 5 days after seismic surveys.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of underwater sounds produced by hydraulic and mechanical dredging operations

Reine

Clarke

Dickerson³

2014

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sound recordings were made of two dredging operations at hydrophone depths of 3 and 9.1 m at distances up to 1.2 km from the source in shallow waters (<15 m) of New York Harbor. Sound sources included rock fracturing by a hydraulic cutterhead dredge and six distinct sources associated with a mechanical backhoe dredging operation during rock excavation. To place sound emitted from these dredges in perspective with other anthropogenic sounds, recordings were also made of several deep-draft commercial vessels. Results are presented as sound pressure levels (SPLs) in one-third octave versus range across the 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency band. To address concerns for protection of fishery resource occupying the harbor, SPL were examined at frequency bands of 50-1000 Hz and 100-400 Hz, the ranges where the majority of fishes without hearing specializations detect sound and the range of greatest sensitivity, respectively. Source levels (dB re 1 μPa-1 m rms) were back calculated using fitted regression (15LogR). The strongest sound sources (180-188.9 dB) were emitted by commercial shipping. Rock fracturing produced a source level of 175 dB, whereas six distinct sources associated with rock excavation had source levels ranging from 164.2 to 179.4 dB re 1 μPa-1 m (rms).

show abstract

Effects of Underwater Explosions on Larval Fish: Implications for a Coastal Engineering Project

Cited by 28 publications

References 5 publications

The effects of modern war and military activities on biodiversity and the environment

The effects of modern war and military activities on biodiversity and the environment

The effects of anthropogenic sources of sound on fishes

Characterization of underwater sounds produced by hydraulic and mechanical dredging operations

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About