MARMAM readers,
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.south...@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.
--
Brandon L. Southall, Ph.D.
President, Senior Scientist, SEA, Inc.
Research Associate, University of California, Santa Cruz
9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
831.332.8744 (mobile); 831.661.5177 (office); 831.661.5178 (fax)
brandon.south...@sea-inc.net; www.sea-inc.net
http://www.fastpencil.com/publications/4263-Ocean-Journeys-Beginnings
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