Sleuthing with sound: Understanding vessel activity in marine protected areas using passive acoustic monitoring

Kline, Logan R.; DeAngelis, Annamaria I.; McBride, Candace; Rodgers, Giverny G.; Rowell, Timothy J.; Smith, Jeremy; Stanley, Jenni A.; Read, Andrew D.; Parijs, Sofie M. Van

doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104138

Cited by 23 publications

(18 citation statements)

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“…Large vessels in particular are known to have higher source levels than small vessels (e.g., recreational vessels) and are thus more likely to influence measurements of a soundscape (National Resource Council, 2003). Kline et al (2020) found that the majority of vessels in these NPZs were likely to be small or medium vessels transiting outside of the NPZ boundaries, and the paucity of close passages from large vessels may explain the discrepancy between the persistent presence of detected vessels and their apparent absence as an important contributor to the overall soundscape characteristics. Anthropogenic sources occurring beyond the boundaries of protected areas often still affect soundscapes within those boundaries (e.g., Hatch and Fristrup, 2009;Buscaino et al, 2016;Pavan, 2017;Haver et al, 2020).…”

Section: Anthropogenic Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Using a VEMCO Ascent acoustic release mechanism, SoundTraps were attached 2-3 m above a fixed mooring (depth = 37 m CGMP, 42 m SIMP) with subsurface floats extending ∼ 6 m vertically into the water column. Within SIMP, a hydrophone was deployed to the west of Pimpernel Rock on a hard reef substrate (see Kline et al (2020) for detailed site description). In CGMP, a hydrophone was deployed on a sandy bottom.…”

Section: Site Description and Recording Effortmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consistent with methods described in Kline et al (2020), vessels were considered present if the acoustic signature of the vessel included visually discernible acoustic pressure-squared amplitude > 500 Hz. The 500 Hz cutoff was used as a conservative measure to avoid inclusion of vessels that were too far away to reliably discern the signal from background noise.…”

Section: Hourly Presencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anthropogenic Sound Sources 2, 3). Apart from vessels, in CGMP D1 we observed a distinctive metallic rattling sound from a mooring chain presumed to be close to the recorder (Kline et al, 2020). The chain sound was not specifically analyzed since it was determined to be a nearby sound source that likely did not propagate far into the surrounding environment.…”

Section: Seasonal Presence Of Sound Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biological Sound Sources Drive Soundscape Characteristics of Two Australian Marine Parks

et al. 2021

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Soundscapes represent an intrinsic aspect of a habitat which, particularly in protected areas, should be monitored and managed to mitigate human impacts. Soundscape ecology characterizes acoustic interactions within an environment, integrating biological, anthropogenic, climatological, and geological sound sources. Monitoring soundscapes in marine protected areas is particularly important due to the reliance of many marine species on sound for biological functions, including communication and reproduction. In this study we establish a baseline understanding of underwater soundscapes within two marine National Park Zones (NPZs) along the east coast of Australia: Cod Grounds Marine Park and an NPZ surrounding Pimpernel Rock within Solitary Islands Marine Park. In each of the NPZs, underwater recorders were deployed twice during the austral winter (33–35 days, 2018 and 60–69 days, 2019) and once during the austral summer (35–71 days, 2018–2019). We used the resulting acoustic recordings to determine hourly presence of anthropogenic and biological sounds between 20 Hz and 24 kHz and analyze their contributions to patterns of received sound levels. Sounds from vessels were recorded on most days throughout monitoring but were not found to influence long-term patterns of sound levels over their corresponding frequencies. Biological sources included dolphins, snapping shrimp, fish choruses, humpback whales, and dwarf minke whales. Dolphins, snapping shrimp, and fish choruses were present in all deployments. Median ambient sound levels showed a consistent diel pattern with increased levels resulting from crepuscular fish choruses combined with a higher intensity of snapping shrimp snaps during those times. Singing humpback whales strongly influenced the overall sound levels throughout the winter migration, while dwarf minke whales were consistently detected in the 2019 winter deployment but were only present in 2 h among the earlier deployments. Patterns of acoustic spectra were similar between the two NPZs, and patterns of soundscape measurements were observed to be driven by seasonal differences in biological contributions rather than anthropogenic sound sources, indicating that these NPZs are not yet heavily impacted by anthropogenic noise. These baseline measurements will prove invaluable in long-term monitoring of the biological health of NPZs.

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Section: Anthropogenic Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Site Description and Recording Effortmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hourly Presencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Seasonal Presence Of Sound Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biological Sound Sources Drive Soundscape Characteristics of Two Australian Marine Parks

et al. 2021

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“…Protection of acoustic habitat in the ocean is an ongoing and rising priority (Southall et al, 2009;Hatch et al, 2016;Chou et al, 2021;Duarte et al, 2021), and passive acoustic monitoring has become integral to the management of marine protected areas (Gottesman et al, 2020;Kline et al, 2020). The ways that anthropogenic noise can affect marine mammals include interference with communication (masking), behavioral disturbance such as avoidance of key habitat areas essential to fitness and survival, induction of chronic or acute stress, and in severe cases physiological damage (Hatch et al, 2008(Hatch et al, , 2012Rolland et al, 2012;Gedamke et al, 2016;Erbe et al, 2019;Simonis et al, 2020a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduction of Low-Frequency Vessel Noise in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

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Low-frequency sound from large vessels is a major, global source of ocean noise that can interfere with acoustic communication for a variety of marine animals. Changes in vessel activity provide opportunities to quantify relationships between vessel traffic levels and soundscape conditions in biologically important habitats. Using continuous deep-sea (890 m) recordings acquired ∼20 km (closest point of approach) from offshore shipping lanes, we observed reduction of low-frequency noise within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (California, United States) associated with changes in vessel traffic during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Acoustic modeling shows that the recording site receives low-frequency vessel noise primarily from the regional shipping lanes rather than via the Sound Fixing and Ranging (SOFAR) channel. Monthly geometric means and percentiles of spectrum levels in the one-third octave band centered at 63 Hz during 2020 were compared with those from the same months of 2018–2019. Spectrum levels were persistently and significantly lower during February through July 2020, although a partial rebound in ambient noise levels was indicated by July. Mean spectrum levels during 2020 were more than 1 dB re 1 μPa2 Hz–1 below those of a previous year during 4 months. The lowest spectrum levels, in June 2020, were as much as 1.9 (mean) and 2.4 (25% exceedance level) dB re 1 μPa2 Hz–1 below levels of previous years. Spectrum levels during 2020 were significantly correlated with large-vessel total gross tonnage derived from economic data, summed across all California ports (r = 0.81, p < 0.05; adjusted r2 = 0.58). They were more highly correlated with regional presence of large vessels, quantified from Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel tracking data weighted according to vessel speed and modeled acoustic transmission loss (r = 0.92, p < 0.01; adjusted r2 = 0.81). Within the 3-year study period, February–June 2020 exhibited persistently quiet low-frequency noise and anomalously low statewide port activity and regional large-vessel presence. The results illustrate the ephemeral nature of noise pollution by documenting how it responds rapidly to changes in offshore large-vessel traffic, and how this anthropogenic imprint reaches habitat remote from major ports and shipping lanes.

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Economic pressures of Covid‐19 lockdowns result in increased timber extraction within a critically endangered region: A case study from the Pacific Forest of Ecuador

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Fritts

Brunner

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Sleuthing with sound: Understanding vessel activity in marine protected areas using passive acoustic monitoring

Cited by 23 publications

References 50 publications

Biological Sound Sources Drive Soundscape Characteristics of Two Australian Marine Parks

Biological Sound Sources Drive Soundscape Characteristics of Two Australian Marine Parks

Reduction of Low-Frequency Vessel Noise in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Economic pressures of Covid‐19 lockdowns result in increased timber extraction within a critically endangered region: A case study from the Pacific Forest of Ecuador

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