Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) were absent along the Eastern Cape coast, South Africa, for more than a century after overexploitation by land-based whalers in the early 1800s. Currently, mother-calf pairs in particular are again frequently sighted in this area, raising concerns about the effect of recent port developments on their occurrence in nursing areas. Soundscape contributors and sound levels of two neighboring nursing bays, St. Francis Bay (one recreational port) and Algoa Bay (two commercial ports), were compared to address this concern. Wind, southern right whales, fish, snapping shrimp, and close vessels were contributing to noise levels in both bays. Additional sound sources in Algoa Bay were surf-zone noise, dolphins, and distant vessels. The overall sound levels in Algoa Bay were 5-25 dB re 1 μPa2/Hz higher. However, mother-calf pair sightings per unit effort was 0.99 (St. Francis Bay) against 1.11 (Algoa Bay), resulting in a lack of evidence that mothers prefer quieter bays or bays with less frequent anthropogenic sound sources to nurse their calves. Further acoustical data is required to assess the importance and range of each sound source within the soundscape, whereas behavioral observations may assist to assess differences in mother-calf behavior within different acoustic environments.
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10 July 2016
Fourth International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life
10–16 July 2016
Dublin, Ireland
July 10 2016
Comparison of soundscape contributors between two neighboring southern right whale nursing areas along the South African coast
Renée P. Koper
;
Renée P. Koper
1Oceanography, School of Environmental Sciences,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa
; Renee.koper@nmmu.ac.za; Stephanie.plon@nmmu.ac.za
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Christine Erbe;
Christine Erbe
2Centre for Marine Science &
Technology, Curtin University
, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
; C.Erbe@curtin.edu.au
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Derek R. du Preez;
Derek R. du Preez
3Department of Botany,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa
; Derek.dupreez@nmmu.ac.za
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Stephanie Plön
Stephanie Plön
1Oceanography, School of Environmental Sciences,
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa
; Renee.koper@nmmu.ac.za; Stephanie.plon@nmmu.ac.za
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Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 27, 070014 (2016)
Article history
Received:
August 16 2016
Accepted:
October 18 2016
Citation
Renée P. Koper, Christine Erbe, Derek R. du Preez, Stephanie Plön; Comparison of soundscape contributors between two neighboring southern right whale nursing areas along the South African coast. Proc. Mtgs. Acoust. 10 July 2016; 27 (1): 070014. https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0000303
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