Anthropogenic underwater noise pressures

Transcription

1 Potential anthropogenic underwater noise impacts on zooplankton to whales a general overview. Rudy Kloser and Karen Evans June 2018 OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE environment/topic/2016/anthropogenic noise#anthropogenic_noise Anthropogenic underwater noise pressures Geographic extent Magnitude mortality/injury Magnitude disturbance Duration Frequency Area of ensonification 2 Slabbekoorn, H., Bouton, N., van Opzeeland, I., Coers, A., ten Cate, C., & Popper, A. N. (2010). A noisy spring: the impact of globally rising underwater sound levels on fish. Trends in ecology & evolution, 25(7),

2 Environmental Impacts 3 Hawkins and Popper, 2016; image Slabbekoorn et al Species impacts from whales to zooplankton in the literature Rise in publications marine mammals and increasing research on fish and invertebrates Population and ecosystem impacts difficult to assess Sound scape research increasing 4 Source Williams et al Oceans and Coastal Management 2

3 Species vulnerabilities mammals Established research area with major vulnerabilities reported at species level for a diverse group including: Spatial displacement habitat loss Temporary hearing impairment Potential permanent threshold shift Barotrauma Identified Gaps Population effects (e.g. stock structure, habitat use) Multiple cumulative stressors Communication effects Lack of audiograms for many species See detailed presentation 5 Guidelines EIA Marine Noise_TechnicalSupportInformation_FINAL pdf Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), WaterFrame/Alamy Stock Photo Species vulnerabilities fish Major reported impacts Mortality due to signal strength (explosives, pile driving) Damage sensory systems Behavioural changes (foraging, habitat displacement) Signal masking Gaps Very diverse group with diverse hearing systems Range of habitats Long term effects Prideaux G, 2017, Technical Support Information to the CMS Family Guidelines on Environmental Impact Assessments for Marine 6 Noise generating Activities, Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Bonn. 3

4 Species vulnerability zooplankton Recent examples of impacts on zooplankton presumably due to sensory hair damage. Highlights our knowledge gap across taxa and need for more and repeated studies 7 Population impact zooplankton model study Recover depends on generation time and ocean circulation NWS Australian simulated seismic survey 37 days Greater impact predicted with weaker currents Needs better controlled studies in regions of low currents and high zooplankton biomass With circulation Without circulation 8 Richardson AJ, Matear RJ and Lenton A (2017) Potential impacts on zooplankton of seismic surveys. CSIRO, Australia. 34 pp. 4

5 Population impactexample Tuna SBT Assessing if a population impact difficult. 2 D surveys Overlap of habitat use by tagged Tuna in the region Cause and effect of behaviour influences complicated and needs careful designed controlled experimentation. Without these only qualitative/inconclusive statements possible. 9 Karen Evans, Robert D. McCauley, Paige Eveson and Toby Patterson, A summary of oil and gas exploration in the Great Australian Bight with particular reference to southern bluefin tuna, Deep Sea Research Part II, Ecosystem sound scape and species interactions due to cumulative impacts a challenge to quantify 10 Presentation title Presenter name 5

6 Reef 2050 Plan (Draft) Cumulative Impact Management Policy LTMP Zone of Influence Modelling Strategy Precautionary Principle (ISO 31000) Summary of environmental impacts Anthropogenic sound impacts species from zooplankton to whales impact varies with the sound source and distance from the source. Significant gaps in knowledge of auditory response for many impacted species. Assessing the scale of impact on the population and the ecosystem is challenging requiring expensive and detailed studies. Assessing potential impacts requires a multiple stressor risk framework for the species, population and ecosystem. Need appropriate governance and management arrangement that has balance of burden of proof and precaution. 12 6

7 Acknowledgements CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere NESP Biodiversity Hub Piers Dunstan Thank you OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE Oceans and Atmosphere Rudy Kloser Karen Evans Guidance Schematic (example prototype) 7