Ocean's Echo Chamber Falls Silent: Seismic Surveys Muffle Whale Song
Whales near Spain are singing less during seismic surveys. This noise pollution affects their communication and survival.
#WhaleSong, #OceanNoise, #SeismicSurveys, #MarineLife, #Spain
https://newsletter.tf/seismic-surveys-make-whales-stop-singing-spain/
Whale songs have dropped by over 50% during seismic surveys, a significant decrease in their communication.
#WhaleSong, #OceanNoise, #SeismicSurveys, #MarineLife, #Spain
https://newsletter.tf/seismic-surveys-make-whales-stop-singing-spain/
This mixed-methods study examined the decline of a Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) colony’s abundance in Pacific Grove, California, USA, documented by community scientists. We combined generalized additive modeling (GAM) of abundance trends from 2003 to 2023 with qualitative analysis of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) obtained through interviews. LEK identified various anthropogenic disturbances that may have contributed to the colony’s decline. Statistical analysis revealed that, in 2022 and 2023, Harbor Seal abundance was 29.81% lower than expected, given the availability of prey fish in their forage range. Notably, roadwork near the colony during the 2022 pupping season likely impacted reproductive success and reduced habitat suitability, potentially impacting abundance. This study underscores the demographic impacts of human disturbances on marine mammals, the effectiveness of mixed-methods and community science in ecological research, and the critical need to mitigate disturbances to protect sensitive marine mammal populations, especially during critical periods like pupping seasons.
Passive acoustic monitoring is an effective technique for long-term monitoring of the soundscape in marine protected areas. Ocean noise is a key concern for the U.S. Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and has been identified as a research priority. The Sanctuary Soundscape Monitoring Project (“SanctSound”) was implemented to support efforts to address ocean noise across seven U.S. sanctuaries using a comprehensive and standardized approach. In this study, acoustic recordings were collected in the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary during the humpback whale seasons (November-May) from 2018-2022. Data encompassed 14 deployments across four sites in the main Hawaiian Islands: Hawaiʻi, Maui, O’ahu, and Kauaʻi. The soundscape was dominated by biological sources, most prominently the seasonal detection of humpback whale song. Third octave level monthly medians ranged from 70.4-105 dB re 1 µPa across sites with distinct peaks from January to April particularly at both Hawaiʻi and Maui sites. Overall, we reported relatively low vessel detection rates, with Maui having the highest daily average of vessel detections (x = 19.16). No COVID-19 impact could be observed acoustically using soundscape metrics which was likely due to the dominance of humpback whale chorusing. However, vessel detections and AIS data revealed a reduction in vessel activity after the onset of the pandemic at the Maui and Hawaiʻi sites. This study demonstrates that standardized metrics...
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