on Fish Invertebrates and Ecosystem Services Lindy Weilgart PhD OceanCare Switzerland amp Department of Biology Dalhousie University Halifax Nova Scotia CANADA Sound in the Water Speed of sound in seawater is about 5x that in air ID: 799122
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Slide1
The Impact of Human-Caused Ocean Noise Pollution on Fish, Invertebrates, and Ecosystem Services
Lindy Weilgart, Ph.D.OceanCare, Switzerland&Department of BiologyDalhousie UniversityHalifax, Nova Scotia CANADA
Slide2Sound in the WaterSpeed of sound in seawater is about 5x that in airSound on land extends 1-10 kilometers Sound can travel 1,000s of kilometers underwater very fast
Slide3Humans use Sight, Marine Animals use SoundMarine animals “see” with their ears. To marine animals, flooding the ocean with noise is like shining a flashlight into our eyes, blinding us.
Slide4Marine animals rely on sound for all life functionsDepend on sound for:Food-findingReproducingCommunicating
Avoiding predators and hazardsNavigatingSensing their environment
Slide5Impacts of Noise on Marine AnimalsMost marine animals use sound for vital functions102+ fish and invertebrate species impacted by noise66 species of fish36 species of invertebratesRecently, studies on fish and invertebrates show impacts extend beyond individual species to include communities of species and how they interact, compromising ecosystem productivity, and ecological services (sediment mixing, nutrient cycling), with commercial consequences
Slide6Sources of NoiseSeismic Airgun SurveyShipping
Slide7Seismic AirgunsFor detecting oil and gas under sea floorLoud, intense, broadband impulses or “shots” from air released under very high pressureHigh acoustic peak pressure (263 dB) and sharp (short) rise timeArrays of 12-48+ airgunsOcean floor penetration > 100 km even after going through sometimes 1,000s of m of water
Every 10 s, 24 hrs/day, usually over monthsPowerful enough to take your arm off if fired at close range
Slide83D Seismic: Bird’s-Eye View
Source: PGS
Sea surface area covered by towed seismic array = 26 km
2
Slide9Moored hydrophones
along Mid-Atlantic Ridge:
Seismic
airgun
noise off Nova Scotia formed the main part of background noise
4,000
km away.
Seismic
airgun
noise heard nearly constantly throughout Atlantic based on a decade of sea floor monitoring.
Off N.S., 3 surveys at any one time over summer
(
Nieukirk
et al. 2012)
cc
cc
cc
cc
Nova Scotia
cc
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Slide10Global Offshore Seismic Exploration (1994-2005)Courtesy of John Hildebrand
Slide11Loudness of Various Sounds
235-263 dB
Seismic array
216-230 dB
Single air gun
255 dB
Undersea
earthquake
260 dB
Undersea volcano
267 dB
0.5 kg TNT
Decibel scale is logarithmic--
each increase in 3 dB is a doubling of intensity
Slide12Impacts of Noise on Marine AnimalsDevelopmentBody malformationsHigher egg or immature mortalityDevelopmental delays
Delays in metamorphosing and settlingSlower growth ratesAnatomyHearing loss (up to months or permanent)
Cellular damage to statocysts/neurons
Massive internal injuries
Disorientation and death
Slide13Impacts of Noise on Marine AnimalsPhysiology (stress)Increases in:Stress hormonesMetabolic rate
Oxygen uptakeCardiac outputParasitesIrritationDistress
Mortality rate (disease and cannibalism)
Worse/lower:
Body condition
Growth
Weight
Food consumption
Immune response
Reproductive rates
DNA integrity
Overall physiology
Slide14Impacts of Noise on Marine AnimalsBehaviorAvoidance of important habitat, days to yearsAlarm responses, hiding, flightIncreased aggression
Decreased anti-predator defenseDecreased nest-digging and careDecreased courtship calls, spawning, egg clutchesDecreased feeding
Distraction (food-handling errors, inefficiency)
Uncoordinated schooling
Slide15Impacts of Noise on Marine AnimalsMasking (obscuring, obliterating of sounds of interest)Commercial catch ratesDecreased landings
Large fish leave areaIncreased bycatchDecreased abundanceEcological ServicesLess water filtration
Less sediment layer mixing
Less bio-irrigation (key to nutrient cycling)
Slide16Healthy populations of fish are not possible without viable planktonic productivity
Seismic
Airgun
Noise Kills Zooplankton
Single
airgun
causes “hole” in zooplankton out to 1.2 km (max range examined)
(M
cCauley et al. 2017)
Most seismic surveys consist of 18-48
airguns
Numbers halved in most plankton species
1/3 of species almost entirely killed
All krill larvae killed
2-3x more dead zooplankton
From McCauley et al. 2017
Slide17Noise Impacts on Ecosystem and Ecological ServicesPile driving noise caused valve closure in mussels, energetically costly behavior, disrupting breathing, heart rate and excretion, halving oxygen concentrations and doubling CO2 levels in 3 hrs (Roberts et al. 2015)Growth and body condition likely to suffer, with ecosystem and commercial consequences
Slide18Noise Impacts on Ecosystem and Ecological ServicesShip noise suppressed oyster activity and volume of water flowing over their gills, decreasing food uptake, causing slower fat metabolism and growth rate, greater oxidative stress (Charifi et al. 2018)The slowdown in growth constitutes “a potentially massive risk in terms of ecosystem productivity”
Slide19Noise Impacts on Ecosystem and Ecological ServicesBoat noise increased larval mortality and developmental failure in sea hare embryos (Nedelec et al. 2014)Keep corals and algae in balance, graze on toxic bacteriaShip generator noise increases mussel biofouling but decreases size with “potential cascading ecological impacts” (Jolivet et al. 2016)
Vessel hull fouling responsible for 75% of invasive species brought in by ships (McDonald et al. 2014)Costs U.S. Navy US$1 billion every yearNoise causes confusion and disrupts orientation behavior at a critical (larval) stage in reef fish (Simpson et al. 2010)Could affect population welfare, weaken connectivity between populations, reducing replenishment of fished species
Slide20Noise Impacts on Ecosystem and Ecological ServicesNoise repressed burying and bio-irrigation behavior (or water circulation within lobster burrows) in Norway lobsters (Solan et al. 2016)Manila clams showed a stress response to noise, individuals relocated less, stayed on top of the seabed, and closed their valves, increasing lactate dangerouslyClams could not mix upper layers of sediment and could not feed
Noise changed the fluid and particle transport that invertebrates provide, key to nutrient cycling on the seabed
Slide21Noise Impacts on Ecosystem and Ecological ServicesA seismic survey caused reef fish abundance to decline by 78% in the evening when fish habitat use was highest (Paxton et al. 2017)Such reactions of an entire community of species means fish lose opportunities to aggregate, forage, or mate
Response occurred across fish species
Temperate coral reef 1 day before seismic
Same reef with seismic 8 km away
From Paxton et al. 2017
Slide22Shrimp in louder tanks exhibited stress, decreased growth, food consumption, reproductive rates (50% vs. 80%), egg-bearing females (70% vs. 92%), increased mortality (from disease and cannibalism)
(
Lagardère
1982),
and metabolism (higher oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion)
(
Régnault
&
Lagardère
1983)
Seismic airgun noise caused chronic impairment of immune competency and nutritional condition in lobsters up to 120 days post-exposure
(Fitzgibbon et al. 2017).
Developmental delays from seismic in scallop larvae in tanks; 46% with body malformations
(Aguilar de Soto et al. 2013)
Impacts of Noise on Invertebrates
Slide23Seismic significantly increased mortality in scallops
Mortality continued to increase over time
Day et al.2017
Slide24Noise Impacts on Ecosystem and Ecological Services6 hrs of ship noise caused breaks in DNA of blue mussel, lower filtration (algal clearance), oxidative stress (Wale et al. 2016)Mussels could not perform important ecological service of water filtrationScallop mortality increased with seismic survey, reflexes disrupted, immunocompromised, imbalanced electrolytes (Day et al. 2017)Scallops improve water quality through bio-filtration, increase light for underwater plants, decrease eutrophication, feed bottom-dwelling organisms by depositing organic matter from water column
Predator-prey interactions in fish changed with boat noise (Sabet et al. 2015; Simpson et al. 2016)Food web dynamics, community structure and stability compromised
Slide25Noise Impacts on Invertebrates & FishLF noise caused substantial, permanent, cellular damage to statocysts and neurons in squid, cuttlefish, octopus, jellyfish (André et al. 2011; Solé et al. 2013a, 2013b, 2016, 2017)
“…massive acoustic trauma, not compatible with life…” (André et al. 2011)Extensively damaged caged snapper fish ears in the field from seismic noise. No recovery after 58 days (McCauley
et al. 2003). Snapper
ear
is similar to tuna ear.
Before
After
McCauley et al. 2003
Slide26Increased stress hormones and indicators in bass, sea bream, cod, carp, perch, gudgeon, kelpfish, goldfish, shrimp, crabs, mussels, scallops, lobsters, sea horses
(
Bruintjes
et al. 2017;
Buscaino
et al. 2010;
Celi
et al. 2016;
Day et al. 2017; Filiciotto et al. 2016; Fitzgibbon et al. 2017;
Graham and Cooke 2008;
Lagardère
1982; Nichols et al. 2015;
Régnault
&
Lagardère
1983;
Santulli
et al. 1999
; Sierra-Flores et al. 2015; Smith et al. 2004; Spiga et al. 2016; Wale et al. 2013; Wale et al. 2016;
Wysocki et al. 2006
)
Cortisol increased 81%-120% in fish species with shipping noise playback
(Wysocki et al. 2006)
Impacts of Noise on Invertebrates & Fish
Slide27Sea bream moved more, showed stress and intense metabolic activity, with less energy for feeding, migration, reproduction with vessel noise
(Buscaino et al. 2010;
Celi
et al. 2016)
Sea bream increased their oxygen uptake, implying higher stress levels, with pile driving noise
(
Bruintjes
et al. 2017).
Impacts of Noise on Fish
Slide28Tuna schooling lost aggregated structure, became uncoordinated, aggressive, with vessel noise
Can affect homing accuracy of migration to spawning and feeding grounds
(Sara et al. 2007).
Long-term abundance of blue whiting and other mesopelagic fish higher outside seismic shooting area than inside, deeper
(
Slotte
et al. 2004).
Fish in MPA responded to boat noise as to predator attack
(La Manna et al. 2016),
decreased nest-caring
(
Picciulin
et al. 2010),
feeding
(
Bracciali
et al. 2012),
and ability to defend territory
(
Sebastianutto
et al. 2011),
caused masking
(
Codarin
et al. 2009)
and more calling (Picciulin et al. 2012).
Impacts of Noise on Fish (cont’d.)
Slide29Noise Reduces Catch and Abundance of Commercially Important Fish
Trawl catch rates of cod (A) & haddock (B) B (solid), D (striped), A (gray) seismic, by distance (nm) from seismic
Total quantity of cod and haddock by mass B (solid), D (striped), A (gray) seismic
5 days after seismic:
Commercial trawl cod catch↓69%
Longline cod catch ↓45%
Longline haddock catch ↓67%
↓ 52% in CPUE for rockfish hook-and-line fishery
50% average economic loss
Engås
et al. (1996),
Skalski
et al. 1992
Slide30Hassel et al. 2004
Slide315500 sq. km represented
Before
During
After
In seismic shooting
area (5.5x18.5 km):
Trawl catches
of haddock and cod
and longline of
haddock
reduced by 70%
Fish abundance,
catch rates
didn’t return to
pre-seismic levels
5 days after
seismic shooting
stopped
Engås
et al. 1996
Slide32SummaryMost marine fauna very dependent on sound102+ fish and invertebrate species shown to be impactedImpacts include decreased growth, body condition, feeding, reproduction, abundance, immune competency, nutritional condition, catch rates, school coordination and structure, nest-caring, territory defense.
Noise caused permanently damaged ears and sensory organs, developmental delays and malformations, and increased stress, metabolism, masking, and mortalityImpacts extend beyond individual species to include communities of species and how they interact, compromising ecosystem productivity, and ecological services (sediment mixing, nutrient cycling) with commercial consequences