Human Noise Pollution and its Impact on Marine Life Bethany Blease, Josh Papacek, Alicia Doyle, Abby Raguse, Mike Kraft, Taylor Luginbill, Danielle Scott,

Jade Woiderski, and Melanie Lemerande

Dr. Nancy Auer, Biological Oceanography (BL 4465), Michigan Technological University, Houghton MI

Causes • Recreational motor vehicles • Drilling and pile drivers • Seismic testing • SONAR • Large cargo ships • Hydroelectric power Effects • Brain damage • Beached whales and dolphins • Animals getting lost • Jumbled communication • Deserted environments

Salt Water Examples Low-frequency sounds can cause acoustic trauma in

cephalopods by damaging their sensory hairs called statocysts[4]

In the Canary Islands there were at least eight mass stranding’s of beaked whales associated with military exercises[5]

Many beaked whales that have been stranded were found with “bubble lesions”, which is similar to a type of decompression sickness[5]

Risso’s dolphins communicate using echolocation clicks, and they may be capable of hearing frequencies above 100 kHz[6]

Solutions to Noise Pollution Buying local products

Lowers how much shipping on the oceans is done, thus lowering the noise pollutions caused by ships

Bubble curtains Created by placing a pipe or hose on the sea floor in order to create a ring around noise pollutants. Air is pushed through strategically placed and sized holes, creating a shield of bubbles around the noise

Keeping ships in working order It is especially important to clean the propeller, which can cause a lot of unnecessary noise if it is left unclean

Check ideas for new marine projects with a set of rules and regulations that will minimize noise pollution

Use of alternate frequencies

Introduction The vastness of the world ocean may lead one to believe that it is a largely silent entity. However, marine biota has evolved over millions of years to take advantage of the sound-conducting properties of seawater. Human activities have contributed to a significant increase in ambient ocean sound levels in recent years. Thus, ocean pollution is not limited to just chemical runoff or solid waste disposal as anthropogenic noise pollution has considerable implications for the survival of organisms. Freshwater species are subjected to unnatural sounds as well. New solutions for decreasing noise pollution in the world’s waterways have been proposed, and the implementation of such ideas is crucial to the biodiversity of aquatic life. Here, we discuss the importance of ocean communication to biota, sources of human noise pollution, and ways for us to limit its effects on life in the ocean.

Fresh Water Examples Ship noise shown to increase cortisol secretions

in three species of European freshwater fish[1] Acoustic noise responsible for decreased

foraging activities in three-spined sticklebacks[2] Exposure to boat noise shown to increase cardiac

output (heart rate) in largemouth bass[3]

Conclusion Increase public awareness of anthropogenic noise pollution Continue research of effects on aquatic organisms Evaluate feasibility and effectiveness of possible solutions

References 1. Wysocki, Lidia, John P. Dittami, and Friedrich Dadich. "Ship noise and cortisol secretion in

European freshwater fishes." Biological Conservation. 128.4 (2006): 501-508. Print. 2. Purser, Julia, and Andrew Radford. "Acoustic Noise Induces Attention Shifts and Reduces

Foraging Performance in Three-Spined Sticklebacks ." PLoS One. (2011): n. page. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046255/?report=abstract>.

3. Graham, Ashley, and Steven Cooke. "The effects of noise disturbance from various recreational boating activities common to inland waters on the cardiac physiology of a freshwater fish, the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)." Aquatic Conservation. 18. (2008): 1315-1324. Print.

4. Andre Michel, Sole Marta, Lenoir Marc, Dufort Merce, Quero Carme, Mas Alex, Lombarte Antoni, van der Schaar Mike, Lopez-Bejar, Morell Maria, Zaugg Serge and Ludwig Houegnigan. Low frequency sounds induce acoustic trauma in cephalopods. 2011. Frontiers in Ecological Environment 9:489-493.

5. Parsons E.C.M., Dolman J. Sarah., Wright J. Andrew., Rose A. Naomi., and Burns W.C.G. Navy sonar and cetaceans: Just how much does the gun need to smoke before we act? 2008 Marine Pollution Bulletin 56:1248-1257.

6. Bearzi Giovanni, Reeves R. Randall, Remonato Elisabetta, Pierantonio Nino, and Sabina Airoldi. Risso’s dolphin Grampus griseus in the Mediterranean Sea. 2010. Mammalian Biology.

Animal Use of Underwater Sounds • Hearing is much more useful than vision underwater due to low light penetration

and high sound speed underwater • Used for navigation, communication, and detection of their environment • Whales are well known for their communication using the SOFAR channel to

interact over long distances • Dolphins can use sound for echolocation underwater to recognize shapes and

determine their surroundings • Some crabs use the ambient noise of the coastline to find their way to the shore

after being in open water • Many reef fishes also use ambient sounds coming from reef dwelling organisms to

locate them when they have completed the pelagic larval forms of their life cycles

Figure 1. The SOFAR Channel depicted with temperature, pressure and velocity (Kristen Kusek, 2010).

Figure 2. A stranded beaked whale near Himatangi Beach (Robert Kitchin, 2011).

Figure 3. The hearing ranges for marine mammals compared to anthropogenic causes, measured in frequency (Hans Slabbekoorn, 2010).

Figure 4. Example of bubble wall technology at the University of Texas (James N. Piper, 2012).

Acknowledgement This poster would not have been possible if not for our wonderful instructor Dr. Nancy Auer. We would also like to thank the Biological Oceanography Class (BL 4465) who contributed to every part of this poster and completed all of the research.