Vessel noise in spatially constricted areas: Modeling acoustic footprints of large vessels in the Cabot Strait, Eastern Canada

Cominelli, Simone; Halliday, William D.; Pine, Matthew K.; Hilliard, R. Casey; Lawson, James S.; Duman, Nadia; Devillers, Rodolphe

doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105255

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Figure 7 shows how the received noise levels at the hydrophone decreased with greater CPA distances. Our results tend to support the 400 m minimum distance of approach for boats with respect to the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga suggested by Canada’s Marine Mammals Regulations [ 51 ], although variability caused by, e.g., slow/fast SOGs, low/high RPM, or relatively noisy engines, still led to broadband noise levels in excess of the 120 dB re 1 μPa behavioural-disturbance threshold [ 52 ] at approach distances greater than 400 m and up to nearly 1 km. Event (41) of Figure 4 reveals received noise levels above the beluga hearing audiogram near 20 kHz at a CPA distance of 586 m ( Table 1 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Low-to-Mid-Frequency Monopole Source Levels of Underwater Noise from Small Recreational Vessels in the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga Critical Habitat

Lagrois

Kowalski

Sénécal

et al. 2023

Sensors

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Anthropogenic noise from navigation is a major contributor to the disturbance of the acoustic soundscape in underwater environments containing noise-sensitive life forms. While previous studies mostly developed protocols for the empirical determination of noise source levels associated with the world’s commercial fleet, this work explores the radiated noise emitted by small recreational vessels that thrive in many coastal waters, such as in the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga population’s summer habitat. Hydrophone-based measurements in the Saguenay River (QC, Canada) were carried out during the summers of 2021 and 2022. Shore-based observations identified 45 isolated transits of small, motorized vessels and were able to track their displacement during their passage near the hydrophone. Received noise levels at the hydrophone typically fell below the hearing audiogram of the endangered St. Lawrence Estuary beluga. Monopole source levels at low frequencies (0.1–≲2 kHz) held on average twice the acoustic power compared to their mid-frequency (≳2–30 kHz) counterparts. The speed over ground of recreational vessel showed a positive correlation with the back-propagated monopole source levels. Estimations of the mid-frequency noise levels based on low-frequency measurements should be used moderately.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Low-to-Mid-Frequency Monopole Source Levels of Underwater Noise from Small Recreational Vessels in the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga Critical Habitat

Lagrois

Kowalski

Sénécal

et al. 2023

Sensors

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“…To provide a measure for change in human activities in relation to the IMOS Animal Tracking network, we also assessed AIS detections within 8 km of receivers in the IMOS Animal Tracking network. The 8 km radius was selected based on a study showing that cetaceans located 7–8 km from a vessel could experience sound pressure levels above the threshold for the onset of behavioural disturbance ( Cominelli et al, 2020 ). Although arbitrary and likely to affect the range of species tagged in the IMOS Animal Tracking network in different ways, we consider this an acceptable proxy considering the limited knowledge available on vessel impacts and given the objective was to document change in human activity across the receiver network.…”

Section: Covid-19 Impact On Marine Activities In Australiamentioning

confidence: 99%

The power of national acoustic tracking networks to assess the impacts of human activity on marine organisms during the COVID-19 pandemic

Huveneers

Jaine

Barnett

et al. 2021

Biological Conservation

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COVID-19 restrictions have led to an unprecedented global hiatus in anthropogenic activities, providing a unique opportunity to assess human impact on biological systems. Here, we describe how a national network of acoustic tracking receivers can be leveraged to assess the effects of human activity on animal movement and space use during such global disruptions. We outline variation in restrictions on human activity across Australian states and describe four mechanisms affecting human interactions with the marine environment: 1) reduction in economy and trade changing shipping traffic; 2) changes in export markets affecting commercial fisheries; 3) alterations in recreational activities; and 4) decline in tourism. We develop a roadmap for the analysis of acoustic tracking data across various scales using Australia's national Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Animal Tracking Facility as a case study. We illustrate the benefit of sustained observing systems and monitoring programs by assessing how a 51-day break in white shark ( Carcharodon carcharias) cage-diving tourism due to COVID-19 restrictions affected the behaviour and space use of two resident species. This cessation of tourism activities represents the longest break since cage-diving vessels started day trips in this area in 2007. Long-term monitoring of the local environment reveals that the activity space of yellowtail kingfish ( Seriola lalandi ) was reduced when cage-diving boats were absent compared to periods following standard tourism operations. However, white shark residency and movements were not affected. Our roadmap is globally applicable and will assist researchers in designing studies to assess how anthropogenic activities can impact animal movement and distributions during regional, short-term through to major, unexpected disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“…With the presumed avoidance of whales from ferries, concrete measures could be considered and are urgently needed to reduce anthropic pressure, such as reduced ferry speeds or shifting of the ferry routes offshore to avoid areas of underwater canyons that are of importance for sperm whales 67 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive acoustic monitoring of sperm whales and anthropogenic noise using stereophonic recordings in the Mediterranean Sea, North West Pelagos Sanctuary

Poupard

Ferrari

Best

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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A total of 147 days spread over 4 years were recorded by a stereophonic sonobuoy set up in the Mediterranean sea, near the coast of Toulon, south of France. These recordings were analyzed in the scope of studying sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and the impact anthropic noises may have on this species. With the use of a novel approach, which combines the use of a stereophonic antenna with a neural network, 226 sperm whales’ passages have been automatically detected in an effective range of 32 km. This dataset was then used to analyze the sperm whales’ abundance, the background noise, the influence of the background noise on the acoustic presence, and the animals’ size. The results show that sperm whales are present all year round in groups of 1–9 individuals, especially during the daytime. The estimated density is 1.69 whales/1000 km$$^2$$ 2 . Animals were also less frequent during periods with an increased background noise due to ferries. The animal size distribution revealed the recorded sperm whales were distributed in length from about 7 to 15.5 m, and lonely whales are larger, while groups of two are composed of juvenile and mid-sized animals.

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Vessel noise in spatially constricted areas: Modeling acoustic footprints of large vessels in the Cabot Strait, Eastern Canada

Cited by 12 publications

References 42 publications

Low-to-Mid-Frequency Monopole Source Levels of Underwater Noise from Small Recreational Vessels in the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga Critical Habitat

Low-to-Mid-Frequency Monopole Source Levels of Underwater Noise from Small Recreational Vessels in the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga Critical Habitat

The power of national acoustic tracking networks to assess the impacts of human activity on marine organisms during the COVID-19 pandemic

Passive acoustic monitoring of sperm whales and anthropogenic noise using stereophonic recordings in the Mediterranean Sea, North West Pelagos Sanctuary

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