Impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an Icelandic foraging ground during the Covid-19 pandemic
Whale-watching vessels contribute to elevated ambient sound levels in marine habitats. The reduction in maritime tourism activities during the Covid-19 pandemic provided an unprecedented opportunity to study the acoustic response of marine mammals to noise associated with whale-watching activities....
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ftsydanskunivpub:oai:sdu.dk:publications/7a8afc25-f821-46d8-9ea6-c2d14b6ec098 2024-04-28T08:23:21+00:00 Impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an Icelandic foraging ground during the Covid-19 pandemic Laute, Amelie Grove, Thomas J. Rasmussen, Marianne H. Smith, Adam Loisa, Olli Fournet, Michelle E.H. 2022-11-24 https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/7a8afc25-f821-46d8-9ea6-c2d14b6ec098 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14202 eng eng https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/7a8afc25-f821-46d8-9ea6-c2d14b6ec098 info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Laute , A , Grove , T J , Rasmussen , M H , Smith , A , Loisa , O & Fournet , M E H 2022 , ' Impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an Icelandic foraging ground during the Covid-19 pandemic ' , Marine Ecology Progress Series , vol. 701 , pp. 159-173 . https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14202 Anthropogenic noise Calling behavior Covid-19 Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Vessel sound Vessel traffic Whale-watching article 2022 ftsydanskunivpub https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14202 2024-04-03T15:49:49Z Whale-watching vessels contribute to elevated ambient sound levels in marine habitats. The reduction in maritime tourism activities during the Covid-19 pandemic provided an unprecedented opportunity to study the acoustic response of marine mammals to noise associated with whale-watching activities. In this study, we used acoustic recordings, visual observations, and Automatic Identification System data to determine the changes in humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae calling behavior associated with whale-watching vessels on a foraging ground in Skjálfandi Bay, Iceland. We compared pre-pandemic summer months (2018) with pandemic (2020) conditions to quantify reductions in vessel activity and determine changes in calling behavior. Broadband ambient sound pressure levels were low in both years (median ~90 dB RMS (25−1300 Hz) re 1 μPa). During the Covid-19 pandemic (2020), the number of whale-watching trips was reduced by 68.6%. The number of humpback whale call detections increased nearly 2-fold. Ambient sound pressure levels stayed the same. We found that humpback whales reduce their calling effort in the presence of vessel sound independent of the overall ambient sound. As whale-watching vessel traffic rebounds and continues to grow, demonstrating behavioral responses should inform management plans such as vessel codes of conduct and marine spatial planning. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Iceland Megaptera novaeangliae Skjálfandi University of Southern Denmark Research Portal Marine Ecology Progress Series 701 159 173 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Southern Denmark Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftsydanskunivpub |
language |
English |
topic |
Anthropogenic noise Calling behavior Covid-19 Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Vessel sound Vessel traffic Whale-watching |
spellingShingle |
Anthropogenic noise Calling behavior Covid-19 Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Vessel sound Vessel traffic Whale-watching Laute, Amelie Grove, Thomas J. Rasmussen, Marianne H. Smith, Adam Loisa, Olli Fournet, Michelle E.H. Impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an Icelandic foraging ground during the Covid-19 pandemic |
topic_facet |
Anthropogenic noise Calling behavior Covid-19 Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Vessel sound Vessel traffic Whale-watching |
description |
Whale-watching vessels contribute to elevated ambient sound levels in marine habitats. The reduction in maritime tourism activities during the Covid-19 pandemic provided an unprecedented opportunity to study the acoustic response of marine mammals to noise associated with whale-watching activities. In this study, we used acoustic recordings, visual observations, and Automatic Identification System data to determine the changes in humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae calling behavior associated with whale-watching vessels on a foraging ground in Skjálfandi Bay, Iceland. We compared pre-pandemic summer months (2018) with pandemic (2020) conditions to quantify reductions in vessel activity and determine changes in calling behavior. Broadband ambient sound pressure levels were low in both years (median ~90 dB RMS (25−1300 Hz) re 1 μPa). During the Covid-19 pandemic (2020), the number of whale-watching trips was reduced by 68.6%. The number of humpback whale call detections increased nearly 2-fold. Ambient sound pressure levels stayed the same. We found that humpback whales reduce their calling effort in the presence of vessel sound independent of the overall ambient sound. As whale-watching vessel traffic rebounds and continues to grow, demonstrating behavioral responses should inform management plans such as vessel codes of conduct and marine spatial planning. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Laute, Amelie Grove, Thomas J. Rasmussen, Marianne H. Smith, Adam Loisa, Olli Fournet, Michelle E.H. |
author_facet |
Laute, Amelie Grove, Thomas J. Rasmussen, Marianne H. Smith, Adam Loisa, Olli Fournet, Michelle E.H. |
author_sort |
Laute, Amelie |
title |
Impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an Icelandic foraging ground during the Covid-19 pandemic |
title_short |
Impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an Icelandic foraging ground during the Covid-19 pandemic |
title_full |
Impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an Icelandic foraging ground during the Covid-19 pandemic |
title_fullStr |
Impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an Icelandic foraging ground during the Covid-19 pandemic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an Icelandic foraging ground during the Covid-19 pandemic |
title_sort |
impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an icelandic foraging ground during the covid-19 pandemic |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/7a8afc25-f821-46d8-9ea6-c2d14b6ec098 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14202 |
genre |
Humpback Whale Iceland Megaptera novaeangliae Skjálfandi |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Iceland Megaptera novaeangliae Skjálfandi |
op_source |
Laute , A , Grove , T J , Rasmussen , M H , Smith , A , Loisa , O & Fournet , M E H 2022 , ' Impact of whale-watching vessels on humpback whale calling behavior on an Icelandic foraging ground during the Covid-19 pandemic ' , Marine Ecology Progress Series , vol. 701 , pp. 159-173 . https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14202 |
op_relation |
https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/7a8afc25-f821-46d8-9ea6-c2d14b6ec098 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14202 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
701 |
container_start_page |
159 |
op_container_end_page |
173 |
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1797584354084388864 |