A continuous car ferry line crossing the Saguenay Fjord mouth and traffic from the local whale-watching fleet introduce high levels of shipping noise in the heart of the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park. To characterize this noise and examine its potential impact on belugas, a 4-hydrophone array was deployed in the area and continuously recorded for five weeks in May–June 2009. The source levels of the different vessel types showed little dependence on vessel size or speed increase. Their spectral range covered 33 dB. Lowest noise levels occurred at night, when ferry crossing pace was reduced, and daytime noise peaked during whale-watching tour departures and arrivals. Natural ambient noise prevailed 9.4% of the time. Ferry traffic added 30–35 dB to ambient levels above 1 kHz during crossings, which contributed 8 to 14 dB to hourly averages. The whale-watching fleet added up to 5.6 dB during peak hours. Assuming no behavioral or auditory compensation, half of the time, beluga potential communication range was reduced to less than ∼30% of its expected value under natural noise conditions, and to less than ∼15% for one quarter of the time, with little dependence on call frequency. The echolocation band for this population of belugas was also affected by the shipping noise.
REFERENCES
1.
Arveson
, P. T.
, and Vendittis
, D. J.
(2000
). “Radiated noise characteristics of a modern cargo ship
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
107
, 118
–129
.3.
Au
, W. W. L.
, and Benoit-Bird
, K. J.
(2003
). “Automatic gain control in the echolocation system of dolphins
,” Nature
423
, 861
–863
.4.
Au
, W. W. L.
, Carder
, D. A.
, Penner
, R. H.
, and Scronce
, B. L.
(1985
). “Demonstration of adaptation in beluga whale echolocation signals
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
77
, 726
–730
.5.
Au
, W. W. L.
, and Hastings
, M. C.
(2008
). Principles of Marine Bioacoustics
(Springer
, New York
), pp. 1
–679
.6.
Au
, W. W. L.
, Nachtigall
, P. E.
, and Pawloski
, J. L.
(1999
). “Temporary threshold shift in hearing induced by an octave band of continuous noise in the bottlenose dolphin
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
106
, 2251
–A
.2.
Au
, W. L.
, Penner
, R. H.
, and Turl
, C. W.
(1987
). “Propagation of beluga echolocation signals
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
82
, 807
–813
.7.
Bédard
, C.
, and Simard
, Y.
(2006
). “Automated detection of white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) vocalizations in St. Lawrence estuary and occurrence pattern
,” Can. Acoust.
34
, 84
–85
.8.
Belikov
, R.
, and Bel’kovich
, V.
(2006
). “High-pitched tonal signals of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in a summer assemblage off Solovetskii Island in the White Sea
,” Acoust. Phys.
52
, 125
–131
.9.
Boyd
, I.
, Frisk
, G.
, Urban
, E.
, Tyack
, P.
, Ausubel
, J.
, Seeyave
, S.
, Cato
, D.
, Southall
, B.
, Weise
, M.
, Andrew
, R.
, Akamatsu
, T.
, Dekeling
, R.
, Erbe
, C.
, Farmer
, D.
, Gentry
, R.
, Goss
, T.
, Hawkins
, A.
, Li
, F.
, Metcalf
, K.
, Miller
, J.
, Moretti
, D.
, Rodrigo
, C.
, and Shinke
, T.
(2011
). “An international quiet oceans experiment
,” Oceanography
24
, 174
–181
.10.
Branstetter
, B. K.
, and Finneran
, J. J.
(2008
). “Comodulation masking release in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
124
, 625
–633
.11.
Chion
, C.
, Turgeon
, S.
, Michaud
, R.
, Landry
, J.-A.
, and Parrott
, L.
(2010
). “Portrait de la navigation dans le parc marin du Saguenay-Saint-Laurent: Caractérisation des activités sans prélèvement de ressources entre le 1er mai et le 31octobre 2007 (Shipping characteristics in Saguenay-St. Lawrence marine park)” (Parks Canada, Québec, Canada), pp. 1
–86
.12.
Clark
, C.
, Ellison
, W. T.
, Southall
, B. L.
, Hatch
, L.
, Van Parijs
, S.
, Frankel
, A. S.
, and Ponirakis
, D.
(2009
). “Acoustic masking in marine ecosystems: Intuitions, analysis, and implication
,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser.
395
, 201
–222
.13.
Erbe
, C.
(2002
). “Underwater noise of whale-watching boats and potential effects on killer whales (Orcinus orca), based on an acoustic impact model
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
18
, 394
–418
.14.
Erbe
, C.
(2008
). “Critical ratios of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) and masked signal duration
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
124
, 2216
–2223
.15.
Erbe
, C.
, and Farmer
, D. M.
(1998
). “Masked hearing thresholds of a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) in icebreaker noise
,” Deep-Sea Res., Part II
45
, 1373
–1388
.16.
Erbe
, C.
, and Farmer
, D. M.
(2000a
). “A software model to estimate zones of impact on marine mammals around anthropogenic noise
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
108
, 1327
–1331
.17.
Erbe
, C.
, and Farmer
, D. M.
(2000b
). “Zones of impact around icebreakers affecting beluga whales in the Beaufort Sea
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
108
, 1332
–1340
.18.
Finneran
, J. J.
, Carder
, D. A.
, Dear
, R.
, Belting
, T.
, McBain
, J.
, Dalton
, L.
, and Ridgway
, S. H.
(2005
). “Pure tone audiograms and possible aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss in belugas (Delphinapterus leucas)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
117
, 3936
–3943
.19.
Finneran
, J. J.
, Carder
, D. A.
, Schlundt
, C. E.
, and Dear
, R. L.
(2010
). “Growth and recovery of temporary threshold shift at 3 kHz in bottlenose dolphins: Experimental data and mathematical models
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
127
, 3256
–3266
.20.
Finneran
, J. J.
, Schlundt
, C. E.
, Carder
, D. A.
, and Ridgway
, S. H.
(2002
). “Auditory filter shapes for the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) derived with notched noise
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
112
, 322
–328
.21.
Fletcher
, H.
(1940
). “Auditory patterns
,” Rev. Mod. Phys.
12
, 47
–61
.22.
Foote
, A. D.
, Osborne
, R. W.
, and Hoelzel
, A. R.
(2004
). “Whale-call response to masking boat noise
,” Nature
428
, 910
.23.
Frankel
, A. S.
, Ellison
, W. T.
, and Buchanan
, J.
(2002
). “Application of the acoustic integration model (AIM) to predict and minimize environmental impacts
,” in Proceedings of IEEE Oceans 2002
, Biloxi, MS, pp. 1438
–1443
.24.
Gisiner
, R.
, Harper
, S.
, Livingston
, E.
, and Simmen
, J.
(2006
). “Effects of sound on the marine environment (ESME): An underwater noise risk model
,” IEEE J. Ocean. Eng.
31
, 4
–7
.25.
Heitmeyer
, R. M.
, Wales
, S. C.
, and Pflug
, L. A.
(2003
). “Shipping noise predictions: Capabilities and limitations
,” Mar. Technol. Soc. J.
37
, 54
–65
.26.
Hildebrand
, J.
(2009
). “Anthropogenic and natural sources of ambient noise in the ocean
,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser.
395
, 5
–20
.27.
Holt
, M. M.
, Noren
, D. P.
, Veirs
, V.
, Emmons
, C. K.
, and Veirs
, S.
(2009
). “Speaking up: Killer whales (Orcinus orca) increase their call amplitude in response to vessel noise
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
125
, EL27
–EL32
.28.
Jensen
, F. H.
, Bejder
, L.
, Wahlberg
, M.
, Aguilar Soto
, N.
, Johnson
, M.
, and Madsen
, P. T.
(2009
). “Vessel noise effects on delphinid communication
,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser.
395
, 161
–175
.29.
Johnson
, C. S.
, McManus
, M. W.
, and Skaar
, D.
(1989
). “Masked tonal hearing thresholds in the beluga whale
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
85
, 2651
–2654
.30.
Kipple
, B.
, and Gabriele
, C.
(2003
). “Glacier Bay watercraft noise
,” Naval Surface Warfare Center, Bremerton, WA, Technical Report NSWCCDE-71-TR-2003/522, prepared for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, pp. 1
–54
.31.
Kipple
, B.
, and Gabriele
, C.
(2004
). “Glacier Bay watercraft noise—Noise characterization for tour, charter, private, and government vessels
,” Naval Surface Warfare Center, Bremerton, WA, Technical Report NSWCCDE-71-TR-2004/545, prepared for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, pp. 1
–47
.32.
Lesage
, V.
, Barrette
, C.
, Kingsley
, M. C. S.
, and Sjare
, B.
(1999
). “The effect of vessel noise on the vocal behavior of belugas in the St. Lawrence River estuary, Canada
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
15
, 65
–84
.33.
Lusseau
, D.
, Bain
, D. E.
, Williams
, R.
, and Smith
, J. C.
(2009
). “Vessel traffic disrupts the foraging behavior of southern resident killer whales Orcinus orca
,” Endang. Species Res.
6
, 211
–221
.34.
Mitson
, R. B.
(1995
). “Undervater noise of research vessels: Review and recommendations
,” ICES Coop. Res. Rep. No. 209, pp. 1
–61
.35.
Mooney
, T. A.
, Nachtigall
, P. E.
, Breese
, M.
, Vlachos
, S.
, and Au
, W. W.
(2009
). “Predicting temporary threshold shifts in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): The effects of noise level and duration
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
125
, 1816
–1826
.36.
37.
O’Connor
, S.
, Campbell
, R.
, Cortez
, H.
, and Knowles
, T.
(2009
). “Whale watching worldwide: Tourism numbers, expenditures and expanding economic benefits
,” Special report prepared by Economists at Large
, International Fund for Animal Welfare
, Yarmouth, MA
, pp. 1
–295
.38.
Popper
, A. N.
, and Hastings
, M. C.
(2009
). “The effects of human-generated sound on fish
,” Integrative Zool.
2009
, 43
–52
.39.
Ramji
, S.
, Latha
, G.
, Rajendran
, V.
, and Ramakrishnan
, S.
(2008
). “Wind dependence of ambient noise in shallow water of Bay of Bengal
,” Appl. Acoust.
69
, 1294
–1298
.40.
Richardson
, W. J.
, Greene
, C. J.
, Malme
, C.
, and Thomson
, D.
(1995
). Marine Mammals and Noise
(Academic
, New York
), pp. 1
–576
.41.
Roy
, N.
, Simard
, Y.
, and Gervaise
, C.
(2010
). “3D tracking of foraging belugas from their clicks: Experiment from a coastal hydrophone array
,” Appl. Acoust.
71
, 1050
–1056
.42.
Scheifele
, P. M.
, Andrew
, S.
, Cooper
, R. A.
, Darre
, M.
, Musiek
, F. E.
, and Max
, L.
(2005
). “Indication of a Lombard vocal response in the St. Lawrence river beluga
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
117
, 1486
–1492
.43.
Simard
, Y.
, Roy
, N.
, and Gervaise
, C.
(2008
). “Passive acoustic detection and localization of whales: Effects of shipping noise in Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am
123
, 4109
–4117
.44.
Simard
, Y.
, Roy
, N.
, Giard
, S.
, Gervaise
, C.
, Conversano
, M.
, and Ménard
, N.
(2010
). “Estimating whale density from their whistling activity: Example with St. Lawrence beluga
,” Appl. Acoust.
71
, 1081
–1086
.45.
Southall
, B. L.
, Bowles
, A. E.
, Ellison
, W. T.
, Finneran
, J. J.
, Gentry
, R. L.
, Greene
, C. R.
, Jr., Kastak
, D.
, Ketten
, D. R.
, Miller
, J. H.
, Nachtigall
, P. E.
, Richardson
, W. J.
, Thomas
, J. A.
, and Tyack
, P. L.
(2007
). “Marine mammal noise exposure criteria: Initial scientific recommendations
,” Aquat. Mamm.
33
, 410
–522
.46.
Trevorrow
, M. V.
, Vassiliev
, B.
, and Vagle
, S.
(2008
). “Directionality and maneuvering effects on a surface ship underwater acoustic signature
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
124
, 767
–778
.47.
Trickey
, J. S.
, Branstetter
, B. K.
, and Finneran
, J. J.
(2010
). “Auditory masking of a 10 kHz tone with environmental, comodulated, and Gaussian noise in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
128
, 3799
–3804
.48.
Tyack
, P.
(2008
). “Implications for marine mammals of large-scale changes in the marine acoustic environment
,” J. Mammol.
89
, 549
–558
.49.
Urick
, R. J.
(1983
). Principles of Underwater Sound
, 3rd ed. (McGraw-Hill
, New York
), pp. 1
–423
.50.
Wales
, S. C.
, and Heitmeyer
, R. M.
(2002
). “An ensemble source spectra model for merchant ship-radiated noise
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
111
, 1211
–1231
.51.
Wenz
, G. M.
(1962
). “Acoustic ambient noise in the ocean: Spectra and sources
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
34
, 1936
–1956
.© 2012 Acoustical Society of America.
2012
Acoustical Society of America
You do not currently have access to this content.