Narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise
Anthropogenic activities are increasing in the Arctic, posing a threat to niche-conservative species with high seasonal site fidelity, such as the narwhal Monodon monoceros. In this controlled sound exposure study, six narwhals were live-captured and instrumented with animal-borne tags providing mov...
Published in: | Biology Letters |
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Language: | English |
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2021
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Online Access: | https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/narwhals-react-to-ship-noise-and-airgun-pulses-embedded-in-background-noise(d2d0c552-b83a-497c-a330-46828035ca8f).html https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0220 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/300991342/rsbl.2021.0220.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121728684&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftcopenhagenunip:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/d2d0c552-b83a-497c-a330-46828035ca8f 2024-06-09T07:43:50+00:00 Narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise Tervo, Outi M. Blackwell, Susanna B. Ditlevsen, Susanne Conrad, Alexander S. Samson, Adeline L. Garde, Eva Hansen, Rikke G. Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter 2021 application/pdf https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/narwhals-react-to-ship-noise-and-airgun-pulses-embedded-in-background-noise(d2d0c552-b83a-497c-a330-46828035ca8f).html https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0220 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/300991342/rsbl.2021.0220.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121728684&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Tervo , O M , Blackwell , S B , Ditlevsen , S , Conrad , A S , Samson , A L , Garde , E , Hansen , R G & Heide-Jørgensen , M P 2021 , ' Narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise ' , Biology Letters , vol. 17 , no. 11 , 20210220 . https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0220 airgun arctic disturbance foraging narwhal noise article 2021 ftcopenhagenunip https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0220 2024-05-16T11:29:22Z Anthropogenic activities are increasing in the Arctic, posing a threat to niche-conservative species with high seasonal site fidelity, such as the narwhal Monodon monoceros. In this controlled sound exposure study, six narwhals were live-captured and instrumented with animal-borne tags providing movement and behavioural data, and exposed to concurrent ship noise and airgun pulses. All narwhals reacted to sound exposure with reduced buzzing rates, where the response was dependent on the magnitude of exposure defined as 1/distance to ship. Buzzing rate was halved at 12 km from the ship, and whales ceased foraging at 7-8 km. Effects of exposure could be detected at distances > 40 km from the ship.At only a few kilometres from the ship, the received high-frequency cetacean weighted sound exposure levels were below background noise indicating extreme sensitivity of narwhals towards sound disturbance and demonstrating their ability to detect signals embedded in background noise. The narwhal's reactions to sustained disturbance may have a plethora of consequences both at individual and population levels. The observed reactions of the whales demonstrate their auditory sensitivity but also emphasize, that anthropogenic activities in pristine narwhal habitats needs to be managed carefully if healthy narwhal populations are to be maintained. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Monodon monoceros narwhal* University of Copenhagen: Research Arctic Biology Letters 17 11 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Copenhagen: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftcopenhagenunip |
language |
English |
topic |
airgun arctic disturbance foraging narwhal noise |
spellingShingle |
airgun arctic disturbance foraging narwhal noise Tervo, Outi M. Blackwell, Susanna B. Ditlevsen, Susanne Conrad, Alexander S. Samson, Adeline L. Garde, Eva Hansen, Rikke G. Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter Narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise |
topic_facet |
airgun arctic disturbance foraging narwhal noise |
description |
Anthropogenic activities are increasing in the Arctic, posing a threat to niche-conservative species with high seasonal site fidelity, such as the narwhal Monodon monoceros. In this controlled sound exposure study, six narwhals were live-captured and instrumented with animal-borne tags providing movement and behavioural data, and exposed to concurrent ship noise and airgun pulses. All narwhals reacted to sound exposure with reduced buzzing rates, where the response was dependent on the magnitude of exposure defined as 1/distance to ship. Buzzing rate was halved at 12 km from the ship, and whales ceased foraging at 7-8 km. Effects of exposure could be detected at distances > 40 km from the ship.At only a few kilometres from the ship, the received high-frequency cetacean weighted sound exposure levels were below background noise indicating extreme sensitivity of narwhals towards sound disturbance and demonstrating their ability to detect signals embedded in background noise. The narwhal's reactions to sustained disturbance may have a plethora of consequences both at individual and population levels. The observed reactions of the whales demonstrate their auditory sensitivity but also emphasize, that anthropogenic activities in pristine narwhal habitats needs to be managed carefully if healthy narwhal populations are to be maintained. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tervo, Outi M. Blackwell, Susanna B. Ditlevsen, Susanne Conrad, Alexander S. Samson, Adeline L. Garde, Eva Hansen, Rikke G. Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter |
author_facet |
Tervo, Outi M. Blackwell, Susanna B. Ditlevsen, Susanne Conrad, Alexander S. Samson, Adeline L. Garde, Eva Hansen, Rikke G. Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter |
author_sort |
Tervo, Outi M. |
title |
Narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise |
title_short |
Narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise |
title_full |
Narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise |
title_fullStr |
Narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise |
title_full_unstemmed |
Narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise |
title_sort |
narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://curis.ku.dk/portal/da/publications/narwhals-react-to-ship-noise-and-airgun-pulses-embedded-in-background-noise(d2d0c552-b83a-497c-a330-46828035ca8f).html https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0220 https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/300991342/rsbl.2021.0220.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121728684&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Monodon monoceros narwhal* |
genre_facet |
Arctic Monodon monoceros narwhal* |
op_source |
Tervo , O M , Blackwell , S B , Ditlevsen , S , Conrad , A S , Samson , A L , Garde , E , Hansen , R G & Heide-Jørgensen , M P 2021 , ' Narwhals react to ship noise and airgun pulses embedded in background noise ' , Biology Letters , vol. 17 , no. 11 , 20210220 . https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0220 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0220 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
11 |
_version_ |
1801372678815219712 |