Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Marie Louis, Jennifer Routledge, Mads Peter Heide-Jorgensen, Paul Szpak, Eline D. Lorenzen
Summary: Sex and size differences in the foraging ecology of harbour porpoises in West Greenland are investigated using stable isotope compositions. Female harbour porpoises, which are larger than males, have a higher trophic level and are able to handle larger prey and dive deeper. The species has a lower trophic level compared to belugas and narwhals, and their diet primarily consists of capelin. Harbour porpoises have a wider ecological niche and occur in shelf and deep offshore waters.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jacopo Boaga, Lapo Boschi
Summary: This study illustrates the implementation and results of a field experiment conducted in the Venetian lagoon. By recording continuous signal from a hydrophone and audio signal through a microphone, the study investigates the potential of small touristic boat traffic in contributing to underwater noise. The ultimate goal is to quantify the impact of motorboat noise pollution on the ecosystem and identify measures to diminish it.
WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Paige E. Stevens, Veda Allen, Jason N. Bruck
Summary: The impacts of human-produced sound on cognition in marine mammals are not well studied. The reduction of anthropogenic noise levels during the COVID-19-related anthropause had an effect on dolphin responses to human-made sounds. Dolphins showed changes in their behavior and attention towards different noise sources. These findings suggest that pauses in anthropogenic noise production can influence dolphin responses to noise stimuli.
Article
Oceanography
Emily Chou, Brandon L. Southall, Martin Robards, Howard C. Rosenbaum
Summary: Anthropogenic underwater noise levels have been on the rise due to increasing industrial activities in the ocean. International recognition of the adverse impacts of noise is growing, with efforts being made to understand and mitigate underwater noise through various strategies and programs. Collaboration, differing implementation capabilities, time and intensity tradeoffs, and life history stages are key considerations for effectively reducing the impacts of anthropogenic underwater noise.
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Teng Zhou, Jingwen Guo
Summary: A lined layer made from nitrile rubber is developed for suppressing underwater noise radiation from offshore wind turbines. The lined layer contains periodically distributed axial cavities, which consist of a circular truncated cone and a cylinder. The acoustic performance of the lined layer is analysed using the equivalent medium method and the transfer matrix method. An optimal configuration targeting low-frequency range is designed based on the analytical prediction model, with an absorption coefficient of up to 0.96 at 2500 Hz. The presence of the lined layer can lower the sound pressure level by up to 18 dB and change the radiation angle of the sound wave front.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Manuel Bou-Cabo, Guillermo Lara, Paula Gutierrez-Munoz, C. Saavedra, Ramon Miralles, Victor Espinosa
Summary: In the past decade, efforts have been made by national authorities and European administrations to establish standards for assessing underwater continuous noise, particularly under the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The evaluation of Sound Pressure Level (SPL) and identification of long-term trends in noise have been identified as priorities. However, the methodology for determining threshold values to evaluate Good Environmental Status (GES) has become difficult to define, and discussions are ongoing among expert groups. This study presents a methodology for assessing a specific area, providing a risk index related to the potential masking effect of underwater noise from marine traffic. The methodology focuses on calculating the area under curves defined by animal density and a variable related to underwater noise SPL. Currently, the methodology does not consider physiological or behavioral mechanisms to overcome masking effects.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Acoustics
Robin Larsson Nordstrom, Emilia Lalander, Isaac Skog, Mathias Andersson
Summary: A method for simultaneous estimation of anthropogenic and wind-generated underwater noise probability distributions using acoustic data recorded with a single hydrophone is proposed. Probability density models for both noise sources are suggested and estimated using maximum likelihood. The method demonstrates successful estimation of wind-generated noise spectra. In practice, ship noise dominates the ambient noise recordings.
JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Francisco Javier Rodrigo, Jaime Ramis, Jesus Carbajo, Pedro Poveda
Summary: Anthropogenic noise poses a growing threat to marine life, and monitoring and controlling underwater noise pollution has become increasingly important. This research presents the results of a three-year long-term monitoring campaign in the port of Cartagena, Spain, analyzing the monthly and annual variation patterns of low-frequency continuous noise. The study provides accurate acoustic values to establish threshold levels and offers recommendations for monitoring programs and regulations to control underwater noise pollution.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Cassandre Aimon, Stephen D. Simpson, Richard A. Hazelwood, Rick Bruintjes, Mauricio A. Urbina
Summary: The study found that anthropogenic underwater vibration leads to increased behavioral responses in shore crabs, indicating a perception of the vibratory stimulus and higher stress levels. There were also sex-specific responses to anthropogenic vibrations, with males showing higher activity levels. However, anthropogenic vibrations had no effect on oxygen consumption.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen, Lasse Johansson, Mathias H. Andersson, Elisa Majamaki, Peter Sigray
Summary: This paper reports on trends in underwater noise emissions from global shipping, based on individual ship modeling. The research predicts a doubling of noise emissions every 11.5 years, with significant regional differences. Containerships, dry bulk, and liquid tanker vessels contribute the most to underwater noise, accounting for 75% of the total energy emitted. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a temporary reduction in global shipping noise emissions, particularly in specific regions, but it is expected that the increasing trend will continue as the global economy recovers.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Paul Jerem, Fiona Mathews
Summary: Anthropogenic noise is recognized as potentially harmful to wildlife, and research in this area has increased significantly over the past decade. However, there is a geographical bias in the studies, with a majority conducted in North America and Europe, and a lack of research in rural areas.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Emma Verling, Ramon Miralles Ricos, Manuel Bou-Cabo, Guillermo Lara, Maria Garagouni, Jean-Marc Brignon, Tim O'Higgins
Summary: The Marine Strategy Framework Directive aims to achieve Good Environmental Status in European waters, presenting challenges to Member States in monitoring a suite of poorly understood descriptors. To address this burden, a risk-based approach has been standardized for assessment and monitoring, applied to two spatial scales for continuous underwater noise risks. The approach demonstrates its adaptability and usefulness despite data gaps and limitations in understanding, with recommendations for improving data availability and accessibility to increase confidence in outputs.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gaetan Richard, Delphine Mathias, Jeremy Collin, Laurent Chauvaud, Julien Bonnel
Summary: The decline in Arctic sea-ice coverage has led to the opening of new maritime routes, introducing underwater noise pollution in previously pristine acoustic environments. However, simplistic propagation models (Nx2D) have been commonly used for underwater noise modeling, underestimating the anthropogenic noise footprint in Arctic fjords. This study aims to estimate disturbance and masking effects on Arctic animal species from shipping noises, comparing the results of a traditional Nx2D model with a full 3D model.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Young Geul Yoon, Dong-Gyun Han, Jee Woong Choi
Summary: As interest in renewable energy development grows, numerous offshore wind farms are being constructed worldwide. Consequently, the potential effects of underwater operational noise on marine ecosystems have become a concern, necessitating an understanding of the mechanisms and acoustic characteristics of such noise for environmental impact assessments.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Long-Fei Huang, Xiao-Mei Xu, Liang-Liang Yang, Shen-Qin Huang, Xin-Hai Zhang, Yang-Liang Zhou
Summary: This study investigates the underwater noises generated during offshore exploratory drilling (OED) at the Xiamen port. The results show that hammering noise is an impulsive sound with a dominant frequency below 10 kHz, while vibrating and drilling noises are non-impulsive sounds with fundamental frequencies of 41 Hz and 45 Hz, respectively. The impact assessment on marine mammals reveals that hammering noise poses a high risk of hearing damage up to 300 meters for certain groups, while drilling noise only causes damage within approximately 40 meters. It is recommended to establish a warning zone with a radius of 1.9 km during OED construction.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
David Lusseau, Lotte Kindt-Larsen, Floris M. van Beest
Summary: Human activities at sea are becoming more complex, requiring adaptable management interventions to mitigate their cumulative effects on biodiversity conservation. Coastal cetaceans, particularly harbour porpoises, are threatened by bycatch and the indirect effects of repeated exposure to disturbances such as acoustic disturbances. The prevalence of pingers, used to mitigate bycatch, can affect both bycatch rate and the population consequences of noise disturbance. Understanding the physiological effects on reproductive decisions and behavioural responses to noise is crucial for evaluating the cumulative impacts of bycatch and its mitigations.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Cormac G. Booth, Marie Guilpin, Aimee-Kate Darias-O'Hara, Janneke M. Ransijn, Megan Ryder, Dave Rosen, Enrico Pirotta, Sophie Smout, Elizabeth A. McHuron, Jacob Nabe-Nielsen, Daniel P. Costa
Summary: Understanding energy balance requires robust estimation of energy intake, and bioenergetics provides a key tool for this investigation. The study reviews the mechanisms that affect energy intake and the processes from ingested energy to net utilizable energy. Existing datasets are summarized, and important research gaps are highlighted to advance the field for effective conservation and management.
CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Emilie Nicoline Stepien, Jacob Nabe-Nielsen, Kirstin Anderson Hansen, Jakob Hojer Kristensen, Marie-Anne Blanchet, Sabrina Brando, Genevieve Desportes, Christina Lockyer, Lauro Marcenaro, Paulien Bunskoek, Jose Kemper, Ursula Siebert, Morten Tange Olsen, Magnus Wahlberg
Summary: Longitudinal data on individual growth and seasonal changes in body mass, girth, and blubber thickness are rare for cetaceans, but can provide valuable information on population composition and individual nutritional condition.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Floris M. van Beest, Efren Lopez-Blanco, Lars H. Hansen, Niels M. Schmidt
Summary: Climate change is causing rapid shifts in habitat suitability for cold-adapted mammalian species in the Arctic, as demonstrated by the northward movement of high to medium suitable habitat for muskoxen and the southward movement of low suitable habitat. These shifts have intensified since the beginning of the twenty-first century, coinciding with increased anomalies in temperature and precipitation. The extreme directional changes in habitat suitability for the largest herbivore in the Arctic tundra highlight the importance of gene flow and dispersal capacity in determining local population persistence.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Samanta Seganfreddo, Jonas Teilmann, Floris M. van Beest, Anders Galatius
Summary: Surveys were conducted in Denmark to assess pup production of harbor seals during the assumed breeding season peak. The best-performing model for analyzing the effects of weather conditions and timing of surveys on pup counts included date and wind speed. Pup counts grew from the start of the observation period and were predicted to peak on June 22.
MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Iben Stokholm, Christine Baechlein, Sara Persson, Anna Roos, Anders Galatius, Line Anker Kyhn, Signe Sveegaard, Charlotte Bie Thostesen, Morten Tange Olsen, Paul Becher, Ursula Siebert
Summary: The seals and harbour porpoises of the Baltic Sea and North Sea have faced various threats in the past, leading to population fluctuations. Limited information is available on viral pathogens in these marine mammals. A study conducted between 2002-2019 found only a few cases of influenza A virus and phocine distemper virus, suggesting introductions of these pathogens during the sampling period. Standardized and continuous sample collection is recommended for future monitoring efforts.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Floris M. van Beest, Niels M. Schmidt, Monica Lonborg Frederiksen, Anne K. H. Krogh, Heidi H. Petersen, Sophia V. Hansson
Summary: Measuring trace element concentrations in animal tissues can help monitor their health status, but the temporal variation and differences between tissues can complicate the assessment of element-health relationships. This study found that hair can serve as an effective biomarker for deer health assessments, but to fully understand the relationship between trace elements and health, a variety of sample matrices should be used.
BIOLOGICAL TRACE ELEMENT RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Acoustics
Jamie Donald John Macaulay, Laia Rojano-Donate, Michael Ladegaard, Jakob Tougaard, Jonas Teilmann, Tiago A. Marques, Ursula Siebert, Peter Teglberg Madsen
Summary: This study investigates the impact of behavioral changes on the interpretation of acoustic monitoring data. The results show that the behavioral state of harbour porpoises has a significant effect on the probability of detecting clicks, highlighting the importance of considering animal behavior in the analysis of animal abundance.
JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Oceanography
Xiuqing Hao, Jacob Nabe-Nielsen
Summary: Danish coastal waters, known for recreational boating and harbour porpoises, lack data on boat speeds and distributions, making it difficult to assess the impact of boat noise on the porpoises. Researchers used coastal observations and satellite images to determine the relationship between boat speed and size/type and the spatial distribution of small boats. Results showed that boat speed varied among marinas and motorboats were the dominant type, with the probability of observing boats decreasing with distance from the shore. This study highlights the importance of combining observation and satellite data in assessing the impact of boats on wildlife.
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Siri L. Elmegaard, Jonas Teilmann, Laia Rojano-Donate, Dennis Brennecke, Lonnie Mikkelsen, Jeppe D. Balle, Ulrich Gosewinkel, Line A. Kyhn, Pernille Tonnesen, Magnus Wahlberg, Andreas Ruser, Ursula Siebert, Peter Teglberg Madsen
Summary: This study investigates the physiological and behavioral responses of harbor porpoises to a commercial acoustic harassment device (AHD). The results show that AHD exposure can trigger startled responses, flight responses, and cardiac responses in porpoises, potentially impacting their blood-gas management, breath-hold capability, energy balance, stress levels, and risk of by-catch.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Floris M. van Beest, Heidi H. Petersen, Anne K. H. Krogh, Monica Lonborg Frederiksen, Niels M. Schmidt, Sophia V. Hansson
Summary: This study investigated the impact of parasites on the health of fallow deer and red deer in Denmark, finding that infection with certain parasites was associated with changes in body condition. Specifically, Trichuris ssp. infection was negatively related to body condition in both deer species, while antibodies of the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii were positively related to body condition in red deer. The study highlights the importance of considering multiple parasite infections when assessing the impact on body condition and health in deer populations.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-PARASITES AND WILDLIFE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Floris M. van Beest, Niels Martin Schmidt, Laerke Stewart, Lars H. Hansen, Anders Michelsen, Jesper B. Mosbacher, Hugo Gilbert, Gael Le Roux, Sophia Hansson
Summary: This study measured the concentrations of essential and non-essential elements in soil and vegetation samples in northeast Greenland, and investigated their relationship to the reproductive output of muskoxen. The results showed that the relative use of geochemical landscapes by muskoxen varied between years and differed among elements. Selection for vegetated sites with higher levels of essential elements was positively linked to annual calf recruitment, while selection for sites with higher concentrations of non-essential elements was negatively correlated to annual calf recruitment.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hans Sanderson, Michal Czub, Jaromir Jakacki, Sven Koschinski, Jakob Tougaard, Signe Sveegaard, Torsten Frey, Patrik Fauser, Jacek Beldowski, Aaron J. Beck, Anna Pzyborski, Adam Olejnik, Bogdan Szturomski, Radoslaw Kicinski
Summary: Armed conflicts not only have severe impacts on human lives and infrastructure, but also on the environment. This article assesses the direct impact of two deliberate explosions on the marine ecosystem, including animal deaths and toxic risks, especially for critically endangered harbor porpoises.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
