Managing the Effects of Noise From Ship Traffic, Seismic Surveying and Construction on Marine Mammals in Antarctica

Erbe, Christine; Dähne, Michael; Gordon, Jonathan; Herata, Heike; Houser, Dorian S.; Koschinski, Sven; Leaper, Russell; McCauley, Robert D.; Miller, Brian; Müller, Michael; Murray, Anita; Oswald, Julie N.; Scholik‐Schlomer, Amy R.; Schuster, Max; Opzeeland, Ilse van; Janik, Vincent M.

doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00647

Cited by 34 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 187 publications

(170 reference statements)

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“…The first of its kind in international waters, it was established in 2016 by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) following scientific advice [99]. Human presence in the Antarctic is increasing with an almost exponential increase in the annual number of visitors over the last two decades raising concerns about potential impacts on the Antarctic ecosystem [100]. Monitoring is needed to inform management of resources, determine the health of the ecosystem and assess whether the RSRMPA is achieving the objectives for which it was established.…”

Section: Application To Conservation Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cold call: the acoustic repertoire of Ross Sea killer whales (Orcinus orca,Type C) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

et al. 2020

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Killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) are top marine predators occurring globally. In Antarctic waters, five ecotypes have been described, with Type C being the smallest form of killer whale known. Acoustic recordings of nine encounters of Type C killer whales were collected in 2012 and 2013 in McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea. In a combined 3.5 h of recordings, 6386 killer whale vocalizations were detected and graded based on their signal-to-noise ratio. Spectrograms of the highest-quality calls were examined for characteristic patterns yielding a catalogue of 28 call types (comprising 1250 calls). Acoustic parameters of each call were measured and summarized by call type. Type C killer whales produced complex calls, consisting of multiple frequency-modulated, amplitude-modulated and pulsed components. Often, two components occurred simultaneously, forming a biphonation; although the biphonic components did not necessarily start and end together, with one component lasting over several others. The addition and deletion of components yielded call subtypes. Call complexity appears stable over time and may be related to feeding ecology. Characterization of the Type C acoustic repertoire is an important step for the development of passive acoustic monitoring of the diverse assemblage of killer whale ecotypes in Antarctica's rapidly changing marine ecosystems.

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Section: Application To Conservation Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cold call: the acoustic repertoire of Ross Sea killer whales (Orcinus orca,Type C) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

et al. 2020

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“…We have shown that accurate models of the Australian marine soundscape must include biological sources (i.e., primarily whales and fishes). Natural biological and physical noise ought to be considered in management frameworks to provide context (e.g., for noise management in the Southern Ocean [79]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

It Often Howls More than It Chugs: Wind versus Ship Noise Under Water in Australia’s Maritime Regions

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Peel

et al. 2021

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Marine soundscapes consist of cumulative contributions by diverse sources of sound grouped into: physical (e.g., wind), biological (e.g., fish), and anthropogenic (e.g., shipping)—each with unique spatial, temporal, and frequency characteristics. In terms of anthropophony, shipping has been found to be the greatest (ubiquitous and continuous) contributor of low-frequency underwater noise in several northern hemisphere soundscapes. Our aim was to develop a model for ship noise in Australian waters, which could be used by industry and government to manage marine zones, their usage, stressors, and potential impacts. We also modelled wind noise under water to provide context to the contribution of ship noise. The models were validated with underwater recordings from 25 sites. As expected, there was good congruence when shipping or wind were the dominant sources. However, there was less agreement when other anthropogenic or biological sources were present (i.e., primarily marine seismic surveying and whales). Off Australia, pristine marine soundscapes (based on the dominance of natural, biological and physical sound) remain, in particular, near offshore reefs and islands. Strong wind noise dominates along the southern Australian coast. Underwater shipping noise dominates only in certain areas, along the eastern seaboard and on the northwest shelf, close to shipping lanes.

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“…Antarctica is predominantly governed by high-income countries, and thus might be expected to receive higher levels of research attention. Ship noise, in particular, is rapidly increasing off Antarctica due to booming tourism and heightened fisheries effort (Erbe et al, 2019). While Arctic marine mammals were first studied several decades ago, at a time when industrial development (i.e., mostly offshore oil and gas) was expected to grow rapidly, no such impetus has yielded a research increase in Antarctica.…”

Section: Geographic Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Ship Noise on Marine Mammals—A Review

et al. 2019

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The number of marine watercraft is on the rise-from private boats in coastal areas to commercial ships crossing oceans. A concomitant increase in underwater noise has been reported in several regions around the globe. Given the important role sound plays in the life functions of marine mammals, research on the potential effects of vessel noise has grown-in particular since the year 2000. We provide an overview of this literature, showing that studies have been patchy in terms of their coverage of species, habitats, vessel types, and types of impact investigated. The documented effects include behavioral and acoustic responses, auditory masking, and stress. We identify knowledge gaps: There appears a bias to more easily accessible species (i.e., bottlenose dolphins and humpback whales), whereas there is a paucity of literature addressing vessel noise impacts on river dolphins, even though some of these species experience chronic noise from boats. Similarly, little is known about the potential effects of ship noise on pelagic and deep-diving marine mammals, even though ship noise is focused in a downward direction, reaching great depth at little acoustic loss and potentially coupling into sound propagation channels in which sound may transmit over long ranges. We explain the fundamental concepts involved in the generation and propagation of vessel noise and point out common problems with both physics and biology: Recordings of ship noise might be affected by unidentified artifacts, and noise exposure can be both under-and over-estimated by tens of decibel if the local sound propagation conditions are not considered. The lack of anthropogenic (e.g., different vessel types), environmental (e.g., different sea states or presence/absence of prey), and biological (e.g., different demographics) controls is a common problem, as is a lack of understanding what constitutes the 'normal' range of behaviors. Last but not least, the biological significance of observed responses is mostly unknown. Moving forward, standards on study design, data analysis, and reporting are badly needed so that results are comparable (across space and time) and so that data can be synthesized to address the grand unknowns: the role of context and the consequences of chronic exposures.

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Managing the Effects of Noise From Ship Traffic, Seismic Surveying and Construction on Marine Mammals in Antarctica

Cited by 34 publications

References 187 publications

Cold call: the acoustic repertoire of Ross Sea killer whales (Orcinus orca,Type C) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

Cold call: the acoustic repertoire of Ross Sea killer whales (Orcinus orca,Type C) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

It Often Howls More than It Chugs: Wind versus Ship Noise Under Water in Australia’s Maritime Regions

The Effects of Ship Noise on Marine Mammals—A Review

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