Dear MARMAM community,
On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to share with you our recent
publication in Ecological Indicators.
Ho, Y.-W., Lin, T. H., Akamatsu, T., & Karczmarski, L. (2024). Fine-scale
spatial variability of marine acoustic environment corresponds with habitat
utilization of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in Hong Kong waters. Ecological
Indicators, 158, 111228.
The full article is open access and available online at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.111228
Abstract:
Acoustic properties of the underwater environment are important in maintaining
biological processes of various marine organisms. However, with the increasing
level of underwater noise in the global ocean, there is a growing need to
better understand how marine animals use soundscape cues in their habitat
selection. Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) inhabiting the
Pearl River Estuary, southeast China, live in one of world’s most developed and
noisiest coastal environment and are subjected to many sources of anthropogenic
noise. To investigate whether spatial variability of underwater soundscape
corresponds with their habitat utilization, we collected daytime underwater
recordings in western Hong Kong waters from mid-2016 to mid-2018, and
quantified the spatial pattern of marine acoustic environment and its differing
characteristics in a fine spatial scale. We developed a framework of soundscape
information retrieval to investigate spectral features that may facilitate
identification of dolphins’ core habitats. Our findings reveal that a spectral
feature, which peaks at 2 kHz, is a reliable predictor of humpback dolphin core
habitat. Further modelling of spatial and seasonal variations of underwater
soundscape demonstrates that the relative strength of this spectral feature is
positively correlated with the sighting rates of humpback dolphins throughout
the year. Although the source of the 2 kHz feature remains unknown, it is
likely associated with humpback dolphins’ prey. We suggest that underwater
acoustic environment represents an important component in evaluating the
quality and suitability of coastal habitats for the daily needs of this
threatened dolphin species. Local and regional conservation authorities should
include habitat-specific baseline soundscape data when developing conservation
management strategies.
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Derek
--------------------
Ho Yuen-Wa Derek
Postdoctoral Fellow
Cetacea Research Institute, Hong Kong <https://www.hku-cetacean-ecology.net/cri>
hoyuenwa[at]cetacea-institute.org
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