Current Status of Development of Methods to Assess Effects of Cumulative or Aggregated Underwater Sounds on Marine Mammals

Erica Fleishman; Bill Streever; Robyn Angliss; Christopher W Clark; William T Ellison; Adam Frankel; Jason Gedamke; Matthias Leu; Megan McKenna; Roberto Racca; Samantha Simmons; Robert Suydam

doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-2981-8_36

Current Status of Development of Methods to Assess Effects of Cumulative or Aggregated Underwater Sounds on Marine Mammals

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016:875:303-11. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2981-8_36.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ John Muir Institute of the Environment, The Barn, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA. efleishman@ucdavis.edu.
² BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc., Anchorage, AK, 99519, USA. streevbj@bp.com.
³ National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, 98103, USA. robyn.angliss@noaa.gov.
⁴ Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA. cwc2@cornell.edu.
⁵ Marine Acoustics, Inc., Marshfield, MA, 02050, USA. wemai@aol.com.
⁶ Marine Acoustics, Inc., Shady Side, MD, 20764, USA. adam.frankel@marineacoustics.com.
⁷ Office of Science and Technology, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA. jason.gedamke@noaa.gov.
⁸ Department of Biology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 23185, USA. mleu@wm.edu.
⁹ Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, United States National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO, 80525, USA. megan.mckenna@gmail.com.
¹⁰ JASCO Applied Sciences, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8Z 7X8. roberto.racca@jasco.com.
¹¹ Marine Mammal Commission, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA. ssimmons@mmc.gov.
¹² North Slope Borough, Barrow, AK, 99723, USA. robert.suydam@north-slope.org.

PMID: 26610973
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2981-8_36

Abstract

There are no standards for assessment of the cumulative effects of underwater sound. Quantitative assessments typically consider a single source, whereas qualitative assessments may include multiple sources but rarely identify response variables. As a step toward understanding the cumulative effects of underwater sound, we assessed the aggregated sounds of multiple sources received by migrating bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). The quantitative method models the sound field from multiple sources and simulates movement of a population through it. The qualitative method uses experts to assess the responses of individuals and populations to sound sources and identify the potential mechanisms. These methods increase the transparency of assessments.

Keywords: Aggregate effects; Behavior; National Environmental Policy Act; Population dynamics; Stressor.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Aquatic Organisms / physiology*
Bowhead Whale / physiology*
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Sound*
Water*

Substances

Water