Influence of vessel noises on underwater vocal activity of harp seals

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Terhune, J. M., Stewart, R. E. A., Ronald, K.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1979
• Subjects: Canada; Harp Seal; Pagophilus groenlandicus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z79-170; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z79-170

Recordings of harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) underwater vocalizations were obtained on whelping patches in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. The seals vocalized throughout the day and night. A marked decrease in seal vocalizations occurred following the arrival of a vessel. The relatively loud motor noises of the vessel completely masked the seal calls (within a 2-km or more radius) except during the night when the vessel's motors were shut down. The decreased seal vocalizations may reflect a change in the seal's behaviour and (or) movement of some seals away from the area of the vessel.