Dear list members,
The paper below has just been published in PLoS ONE:
Risch D, Corkeron PJ, Ellison WT, Van Parijs SM (2012) Changes in
Humpback Whale Song Occurrence in Response to an Acoustic Source 200 km
Away. PLoS ONE 7(1):
e29741.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029741
The effect of underwater anthropogenic sound on marine mammals is of increasing concern. Here we show that humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
song in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) was
reduced, concurrent with transmissions of an Ocean Acoustic Waveguide
Remote Sensing (OAWRS) experiment approximately 200 km away. We detected
the OAWRS experiment in SBNMS during an 11 day period in autumn 2006.
We compared the occurrence of song for 11 days before, during and after
the experiment with song over the same 33 calendar days in two later
years. Using a quasi-Poisson generalized linear model (GLM), we
demonstrate a significant difference in the number of minutes with
detected song between periods and years. The lack of humpback whale song
during the OAWRS experiment was the most substantial signal in the
data. Our findings demonstrate the greatest published distance over
which anthropogenic sound has been shown to affect vocalizing baleen
whales, and the first time that active acoustic fisheries technology has
been shown to have this effect. The suitability of Ocean Acoustic
Waveguide Remote Sensing technology for in-situ, long term
monitoring of marine ecosystems should be considered, bearing in mind
its possible effects on non-target species, in particular protected
species.
The paper can be downloaded from the journal website:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0029741
Sincerely,
Denise
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Denise Risch
Protected Species Branch, NEFSC
166 Water St
MA 02543, Woods Hole
USA
ph: +1 (508) 495 2136
fax: +1 (508) 495 2066
email:denise.risch@noaa.gov