On behalf of my colleagues and co-authors, I would like to bring to
your attention a new publication in Endangered Species Research.
This paper is a contribution to the Theme Section ‘21st century
paradigms for measuring and managing the effects of
anthropogenic ocean noise’ that has been developed and edited by
Doug Nowacek, Wendy Dow-Peniak, and myself. The citation and
abstract of the article are given below. The full text is available
Open Access at <http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v32/> or
by personal request to Brandon.Southall@sea-inc.net.
Forney, K.A.,
Southall, B.L., Slooten, E., Dawson, S., Read,
A.J., Baird, R.W. and Brownell, R.L., 2017. Nowhere to go:
Noise impact
assessments for marine mammal populations with high site
fidelity. Endangered
Species Research.
ABSTRACT. As awareness of the effects of anthropogenic noise on
marine mammals has grown, research has broadened from evaluating
physiological responses, including injury and mortality, to
considering effects on behavior and acoustic communication. Most
mitigation efforts attempt to minimize injury by enabling animals to
move away as noise levels are increased gradually. Recent
experiences demonstrate that this approach is inadequate or even
counterproductive for small, localized marine mammal populations,
for which displacement of animals may itself cause harm.
Seismic surveys within the ranges of harbor porpoise Phocoena
phocoena in California and Ma¯ui dolphin Cephalorhynchus
hectori maui in New Zealand highlight the need to explicitly
consider biological risks posed by displacement during survey
planning, monitoring, and mitigation. Consequences of displacement
are poorly understood, but likely include increased stress and
reduced
foraging success, with associated effects on survival and
reproduction. In some cases, such as the Critically Endangered Ma¯ui
dolphin, displacement by seismic activities risks exposing the
remaining 55 dolphins to bycatch in nearby fisheries. Similar
concerns about military and industrial activities exist for
island-associated species such as melon-headed whales Peponocephala
electra in Hawai’i; shelf-break associated species such as
Cuvier’s beaked whales Ziphius cavirostris off the US
Atlantic coast, and whales foraging in coastal habitats, such as the
Critically Endangered western gray whale Eschrichtius robustus.
We present an expanded framework for considering disturbance effects
that acknowledges scientific uncertainty, providing managers and
operators a more robust means of assessing and avoiding potential
harm associated with both displacement and direct effects of intense
anthropogenic noise exposure.