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Underwater ambient noise in a baleen whale migratory habitat off the Azores

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Date
25/04/2017
Author
Romagosa, Miriam
Cascão, Irma
Merchant, Nathan D.
Lammers, Marc O.
Giacomello, Eva
Marques, Tiago A.
Silva, Mónica A.
Keywords
Underwater noise
Ship noise
Baleen whale
MSFD
Open ocean environment
QH301 Biology
GC Oceanography
T-NDAS
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Abstract
Assessment of underwater noise is of particular interest given the increase in noise-generating human activities and the potential negative effects on marine mammals which depend on sound for many vital processes. The Azores archipelago is an important migratory and feeding habitat for blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (Balaenoptera physalus) and sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) en route to summering grounds in northern Atlantic waters. High levels of low frequency noise in this area could displace whales or interfere with foraging behavior, impacting energy intake during a critical stage of their annual cycle. In this study, bottom-mounted Ecological Acoustic Recorders were deployed at three Azorean seamounts (Condor, Açores and Gigante) to measure temporal variations in background noise levels and ship noise in the 18-1,000 Hz frequency band, used by baleen whales to emit and receive sounds. Monthly average noise levels ranged from 90.3 dB re 1 μPa (Açores seamount) to 103.1 dB re 1 μPa (Condor seamount) and local ship noise was present up to 13% of the recording time in Condor. At this location, average contribution of local boat noise to background noise levels is almost 10 dB higher than wind contribution, which might temporally affect detection ranges for baleen whale calls and difficult communication at long ranges. Given the low time percentatge with noise levels above 120 dB re 1μPa found here (3.3 % at Condor), we woud expect limited behavioural responses to ships from baleen whales. Sound pressure levels measured in the Azores are lower than those reported for the Mediterranean basin and the Strait of Gibraltar. However, the currently unknown effects of baleen whale vocalization masking and the increasing presence of boats at the monitored sites underline the need for continuous monitoring to understand any long-term impacts on whales.
Citation
Romagosa , M , Cascão , I , Merchant , N D , Lammers , M O , Giacomello , E , Marques , T A & Silva , M A 2017 , ' Underwater ambient noise in a baleen whale migratory habitat off the Azores ' , Frontiers in Marine Science , vol. 4 , 109 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00109
Publication
Frontiers in Marine Science
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00109
ISSN
2296-7745
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2017 Romagosa, Cascão, Merchant, Lammers, Giacomello, Marques and Silva. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Description
TM is a member of CEA/UL (Funded by FCT- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal, through the project UID/MAT/00006/2013).
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11545

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