Marine Mammal Observer and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Handbook
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Marine Mammal Observer and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Handbook
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Overview
Marine Mammal Observer and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Handbook is the ultimate instruction manual for mitigation measures to minimise man-made acoustical and physical disturbances to marine mammals from industrial and defence activities.
Based on more than two decades of offshore experience, and a decade of supplying MMO and PAM services (commercial and scientific), the Handbook is a long-overdue reference guide that seeks to improve standards worldwide for marine operations such as seismic and drilling exploration, wind farm and civil engineering piling, dredging, trenching, rock-dumping, hydrographical surveys, and military/defence exercises. By popular request, this manual will also form an accompaniment to MMO and PAM courses.
The Handbook consolidates all aspects of this discipline into one easily accessible resource, to educate all stakeholders (e.g. MMOs, PAM operators, suppliers, recruitment agencies, clients, contractors, regulators, NGOs, consultants, scientists, academia and media), regardless of experience.
Topics include worldwide legislation, compliance, anthropogenic noise sources and potential effects, training, offshore life, visual and acoustic monitoring (theory and practice), marine mammal distribution, hearing and vocalisations, and report writing.
Advice is provided on implementing sensible and practical mitigation techniques, appropriate technologies, data collection, client and regulator liaison, and project kick-off meetings.
"The Handbook is an indispensable How To guide to the growing and increasingly important occupation of marine mammal monitoring, written with clarity and humor by scientists who have extensive experience in this field." —Dr Phillip J. Clapham, world-renowned cetologist and Director of the Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781907807688 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Pelagic Publishing |
| Publication date: | 03/02/2015 |
| Series: | Conservation Handbooks |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 432 |
| File size: | 13 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Dr Victoria Todd is a founding Managing Director and Marine Science Consultant at Ocean Science Consulting (OSC), and is a Visiting Scientist at Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR, Southampton University, UK). She undertook a post doc in commercial aquaculture at Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS, UK), planning and directing a comprehensive series of acoustic trials on seal scarers. She holds degrees in the ecology and acoustics of bats (PhD, Leeds University, UK), Oceanography (MSc, scholarship-funded by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI, US, and National Oceanography Centre, UK), and Marine Biology (BSc Hons, Liverpool University, UK). Dr Todd is also a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. She is experienced in Galápagos fish taxonomy, marine mammal acoustics and marine mammal visual and acoustic surveys worldwide for scientific, commercial and defence contracts. Research interests include bioacoustics, the North Sea rigs-to-reefs concept, harbour porpoise foraging ecology around offshore oil and gas installations, and the effects of anthropogenic noise on marine life, all of which are core research topics at OSC. Dr Todd’s current scientific duties include training, survey design and project management, fieldwork, data analysis, reports, literature reviews, advice documents, Marine Mammal Mitigation Plans or Protocols (MMMPs), and publishing. As the Chief Scientist, she also coordinates most research.
Ian Todd is a founding Managing Director and Marine Science Consultant at OSC, and is undertaking part-time postgraduate research in harbour porpoise (and other marine mammal) interactions with offshore installations and the environment at ISVR (PhD, Southampton University, UK). He holds degrees in Marine Resource, Development & Protection (NERC-funded MSc scholarship, Heriot-Watt University, UK) and Business & Economics (BCom with Honours, Edinburgh University, UK), various diplomas including Marine Engineering (HND, Glasgow College of Nautical Studies, UK), and a Marine Engineering Officer Certificate of Dual Competency (Class IV Steam and Motor Plants, Maritime & Coastguard Agency, UK). As a former Third Engineer Officer (including Health and Safety Officer) in the Merchant Navy, Mr Todd served deep-sea and worldwide with P&O Nedlloyd, then the world’s largest container-shipping company. He organises and supervises visual and acoustic surveys of marine mammals worldwide for scientific, commercial and defence contracts. Mr Todd’s research interests are as per OSC’s core research topics, but include distance sampling, and his current scientific duties are similar to Dr Victoria Todd, but include recruitment, procurement, logistics, finance, brand development, environmental risk assessments, and Health & Safety (H&S).
Erica Morrin is a Marine Science Consultant at OSC. She holds degrees in Marine Mammal Science (MRes, University of St Andrews, UK) and Biology (BSc with Honours, Queen’s University, Canada). Ms Morrin is involved with commercial consultancy, and has served Lead (field position) for visual and acoustic surveys of marine mammals worldwide for scientific and commercial contracts. Ms Morrin’s research interests are as per OSC’s core research topics and her current scientific duties are similar to Ms Gardiner, but include data analysis, and personnel supervision.
Jane Gardiner is a Research Assistant at OSC. She holds degrees in Applied Marine Science (MSc) and Marine Biology (BSc with Honours), both from University of Plymouth. Ms Gardiner is involved with peer-reviewed research publications, and has served Lead (field position) for visual and acoustic surveys of marine mammals worldwide for scientific and commercial contracts. Ms Gardiner’s research interests are as per OSC’s core research topics and her current scientific duties include fieldwork, literature reviews, social media, and H&S.
Dr Victoria Todd is a founding Managing Director and Marine Science Consultant at Ocean Science Consulting (OSC), and is a Visiting Scientist at Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR, Southampton University, UK). She undertook a post doc in commercial aquaculture at Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS, UK), planning and directing a comprehensive series of acoustic trials on seal scarers. She holds degrees in the ecology and acoustics of bats (PhD, Leeds University, UK), Oceanography (MSc, scholarship-funded by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI, US, and National Oceanography Centre, UK), and Marine Biology (BSc Hons, Liverpool University, UK). Dr Todd is also a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. She is experienced in Galápagos fish taxonomy, marine mammal acoustics and marine mammal visual and acoustic surveys worldwide for scientific, commercial and defence contracts. Research interests include bioacoustics, the North Sea rigs-to-reefs concept, harbour porpoise foraging ecology around offshore oil and gas installations, and the effects of anthropogenic noise on marine life, all of which are core research topics at OSC. Dr Todd’s current scientific duties include training, survey design and project management, fieldwork, data analysis, reports, literature reviews, advice documents, Marine Mammal Mitigation Plans or Protocols (MMMPs), and publishing. As the Chief Scientist, she also coordinates most research.
Jane Gardiner is a Research Assistant at Ocean Science Consulting. She holds degrees in Applied Marine Science (MSc) and Marine Biology (BSc with Honours), both from University of Plymouth. Ms Gardiner is involved with peer-reviewed research publications, and has served Lead (field position) for visual and acoustic surveys of marine mammals worldwide for scientific and commercial contracts. Ms Gardiner’s research interests are as per OSC’s core research topics and her current scientific duties include fieldwork, literature reviews, social media, and H&S.
Erica Morrin is a Marine Science Consultant at Ocean Science Consulting. She holds degrees in Marine Mammal Science (MRes, University of St Andrews, UK) and Biology (BSc with Honours, Queen’s University, Canada). Ms Morrin is involved with commercial consultancy, and has served Lead (field position) for visual and acoustic surveys of marine mammals worldwide for scientific and commercial contracts. Ms Morrin’s research interests are as per OSC’s core research topics and her current scientific duties are similar to Ms Gardiner, but include data analysis, and personnel supervision.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
1.1 General Overview
Light in the ocean is limited. At low latitudes, and under the right transmission conditions, light can be detected at 1,000 metres (m) depth, but penetrates rarely beyond 200 m. In temperate seas, coastal areas and estuaries, these distances are often reduced to tens of metres. Under favourable propagation conditions, however, underwater sound can be both generated and heard by ocean users and marine life thousands of kilometres (km) from the source.
Given that sight is of limited use underwater, many marine animals (including nocturnal and crepuscular species) rely on both passive and active acoustics for survival. In a sense, some marine animals use sound in a similar way as many terrestrial species use sight or smell to explore their environment. In particular, cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) use different sound frequency bands for communication, foraging, navigation, threat detection/avoidance and a range of activities within the wider social group such as cohesive actions, warnings and maternal relationships. In most cases, the hearing range of marine mammals is less well understood, but it is assumed generally that animals hear over similar frequency ranges to the sounds they produce, with the exception of some porpoise species. In essence, the ocean is a noisy environment, which provides marine mammals with the ultimate 'acoustic map' of their surroundings.
Underwater sound (and vibration) originates from a wide variety of both natural and anthropogenic sources. Both naturally occurring physical and biological processes generate noise. Physical processes include precipitation, wind, breaking waves, lightning strikes, ice movement, seismic and volcanic activity, interactions of water with substrata, and, at the molecular level, thermal noise. Biological noise sources include marine wildlife vocalisations and general behavioural activities such as noise produced by snapping shrimp.
Incidental (non-deliberate) and intentional (deliberate) anthropogenic noise sources in continental shelf and offshore waters may be both static or mobile, and in the long term we expect production of such sound sources in the marine environment to increase. Some studies have suggested that anthropogenic noise increases at a fixed rate per decade. Chapman and Price (2011) stated that ambient noise in the Northeast Pacific increased at a rate of 3 decibels (dB) a decade, or 0.55 dB a year up to the 1980s, when it reduced to 0.2 dB a year.
Examples of incidental sounds include shipping traffic (from ocean-going vessels to jet skis), hydrocarbon exploration (drilling), production and decommissioning (oil and gas platforms), marine aggregate dredging, mining, explosions (e.g. construction and well-head decommissioning), pile driving and Marine Renewable Energy Devices, MREDs (e.g. wind tidal and wave turbines). Intentional anthropogenic sound sources exploit the ocean as a signal transmission medium. Examples include hydrocarbon exploration (e.g. seismic), acoustic navigation aids (e.g. shipping, SONAR and high frequency echosounders), through-water data communication networks for scientific exploration (e.g. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, AUVs, Remotely Operated Vehicles, ROVs), low frequency tomographic SONAR systems (e.g. Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate, ATOC), seabed imaging (e.g. multi-beam and side-scan SONAR), military SONARs (e.g. Low Frequency Active SONAR, LFA), and marine mammal Acoustic Deterrent Devices (ADDs) for commercial aquaculture, static and trawl fisheries (e.g. pingers and seal scarers). Underwater acoustic telemetry systems (e.g. Adjustable Diversity Acoustic Telemetry System, ADATS, Digital Acoustic Telemetry System, DATS), linking numerous sampling stations into wide area monitoring networks, are also being developed currently.
Scientists have conducted a substantial amount of research into effects of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals but results are varied, conflicting, and often inconclusive. Impacts are dependent evidently on a vast number of factors including the characteristics of the sound source, background noise levels, sound propagation paths, water depth and the hearing sensitivities of receivers, which for the purpose of this book are marine mammals. Effects of noise on other marine life is outside the scope of this Handbook, but potential impacts on, for example, fish is of great concern, and hence the subject of substantial research. Temporary or permanent changes in hearingthresholds of marine mammals, known as Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) or Permanent Threshold Shift (PTS), can occur because of exposure to high intensity sounds, whilst mass stranding events of deep diving species have been correlated with military SONAR activities. Other studies have noted changes in behaviour, avoidance of habitats and alterations to vocalisations. Masking could also reduce communication distances.
Concern and uncertainty surrounding potential effects of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals has compelled governments, regulatory bodies, and offshore industries to produce and enforce mitigation measures, which help to minimise potential impacts. In 1998, the JNCC published Guidelines for Minimising Acoustic Disturbance to Marine Mammals from Seismic Surveys (JNCC, 1998) for United Kingdom (UK) territorial waters. Since then, the JNCC has published revised versions and separate guidelines for pile driving and underwater explosions, and other countries have produced their own guidelines.
Common to all current guidelines are the use of MMOs and PAM Operator specialists, as the Best Available Technique (BAT) to confirm visually or acoustically the absence of marine mammals in a designated exclusion zone prior to activating any anthropogenic noise source.
Within this chapter, marine mammal classification and distribution are discussed, followed by an introduction to documented effects of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals. The chapter concludes with a description of audiograms, and a summary of marine mammal hearing ranges.
1.2 Marine Mammal Classification
In the simplest of terms, marine mammals are a diverse group of animals, which rely, at least in part, on the ocean to survive. Classified broadly into five groups within three orders (Cetacea, Sirenia, and Carnivora), marine mammals comprise cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and the walrus), sirenians (manatees and dugongs), marine mustelids (otters) and the polar bear.
Returning to an aquatic lifestyle at various evolutionary stages, all marine mammals have mammalian traits, although some have retained more terrestrial features than others and characteristics vary extensively (Uhen, 2007). All marine mammal species, therefore, need to be considered separately when discussing any potential effects of anthropogenic noise. More detailed reading on marine mammal classification can be found in Hoelzel (2002), Uhen (2007), and Reeves et al. (2008).
1.2.1 Cetaceans
Included within the order Cetacea are all 88 or so species of whales, dolphins and porpoises. All cetaceans are descended from mesonychid condylarths, which were cat-like, carnivorous land-based ungulates that became amphibious in the Eocene, probably to exploit food-rich near-shore waters (Thewissen, 1998). In the intervening 50 to 60 million years, these condylarths transformed gradually from hoofed waders into fully fledged, flippered whales (Ketten, 2000) and every portion of their anatomy was reshaped physically and functionally to accommodate life in the water (Cranford, 2000). Recent research into fossil dinoflagellates in the Southern Ocean has indicated that a major shift in the plankton ecosystem occurred during the first major glaciation. It was suggested that phytoplankton–zooplankton shift could have contributed to the evolution of baleen whales, which evolved feeding mechanisms which allowed them to take advantage of the seasonal increase in krill (order Euphausiacea), which feed on dinoflagellates (Houben et al., 2013).
Cetaceans are divided into two suborders, the Odontoceti (74 species) and the Mysticeti (14 species), toothed and baleen (or toothless) whales respectively. With the exception of the sperm whale, all of the great whales are mysticetes, and all, except the minke whale, are larger than the toothed whales. Cetaceans range in size from the largest animal to inhabit earth, the blue whale, to the tiny vaquita.
The absence of functional teeth in mysticetes means that feeding strategies of the two suborders differ substantially. Despite their large size, mysticetes prey mainly on small marine organisms, including small crustaceans such as krill. The smaller odontocetes target larger fish and cephalopods; others such as some killer whales (and potentially false killer whales), target mammalian prey. The presence of the paired blowhole in the Mysticeti also distinguishes the two suborders. More detailed reading about cetaceans in general, can be found in Thewissen (1998), Bannister (2002), and Berta et al. (2006).
1.2.2 Pinnipeds
Encompassed within the pinnipeds are all seals, sea lions and the walrus. The word pinniped means fin-footed, and refers to marine mammals that have front and hind flippers, as opposed to flukes or tails. Pinnipeds are not related closely to cetaceans or to sirenians. Like cetaceans, millions of years ago, the ancestors of pinnipeds lived on land and were probably otter or bear-like animals that spent increasing periods in the water, eventually adapting to the marine environment. All pinnipeds must give birth on terrafirma or ice.
There are 34 living species of pinnipeds, distributed mainly in polar, sub-polar and temperate waters. Divided into three families, pinnipeds include Phocidae (true seals), Otariidae (eared seals) – which include fur seals and sea lions – and Odobenidae (the walrus). Otariidae differ from Phocidae in several ways, notably in that they have external ear flaps, walk generally on both their hind and fore flippers, and propel themselves through the water by their fore flippers with a flapping motion. Phocids, on the other hand, do not have visible earflaps, haul themselves along land by their fore flippers or by a 'caterpillar motion' of their bodies, and use their hind flippers to propel themselves through the water, their fore flippers being used for steering. The walrus possesses an interesting mixture of both phocid and otariid characteristics. More detailed reading about pinnipeds can be found in Higdon et al. (2007) and Berta and Churchill (2012).
1.2.3 Sirenians
Like cetaceans, the earliest sirenians were amphibious, four-limbed animals, which lived during the Eocene (Hoelzel, 2002). Now aquatic, modern-day sirenians have robust streamlined bodies with little hair, no dorsal fin and paddle-like forelimbs. Sirenians form part of the ungulate clade Tethytheria, which includes hoofed mammals in the order Proboscidea (elephants), and the extinct Desmostylia (Uhen, 2007).
Today, the order Sirenia includes four species in two families, the Trichechidae (manatees) and the Dugongidae (dugongs). Identifiable by their tail flukes, manatees have a powerful paddle-like tail distinct from the V-shaped tail of the dugong. Sirenians are herbivorous marine mammals that reside in tropical and subtropical waters where sea grass and aquatic vegetation are plentiful. Dugongs are fully marine, and are found in the western Pacific and Indian oceans, whereas, manatees reside in coastal waters, estuaries and rivers and are primarily tropical. More detailed reading about sirenians can be found in Domning (1982), Marsh and Lefebvre (1994) and Marsh et al. (2011).
1.2.4 Marine mustelids
Within the order Carnivora, mustelids are mostly terrestrial or semi-aquatic animals. Only two species extant today can be classed as marine mammals, the sea otter and marine otter (Reeves et al., 2002).
To better adapt them to the marine environment, sea otters and marine otters vary from other mustelids in several ways. For example, their higher fur density ensures air is trapped more efficiently when they dive, thus keeping them warmer (Liwanag et al., 2012).
The majority of mustelids have to give birth on land; sea otters, which give birth in coastal waters, are the only exception. Additional differences between sea and marine otters include distribution, diet and consequently tooth shape. Sea otters, with their blunt rounded teeth, feed mainly on invertebrates, but the sharp pointed teeth of marine otters are better suited to their fish diet (Medina-Vogel et al., 2004). Sea otter distribution is broader, covering the North Pacific and southern Bering Sea, whilst marine otters are restricted to the Pacific coast of South America. More detailed reading about marine mustelids can be found in Riedman and Estes (1990), Anderson et al. (1996) and Valqui (2012).
1.2.5 Polar bear
Like marine mustelids and pinnipeds, the polar bear is part of the order Carnivora. One species exists currently. Distinct from other bear species, the polar bear resides only in the northern hemisphere in areas where sea ice coverage is extensive for the majority of the year (Amstrup, 2003). Branching off in the Pleistocene from the brown bear (Ursus arctos), they share a common ancestor, although significant morphological changes have occurred in the polar bear over the past 20,000–40,000 years (Amstrup, 2003; Derocher and Lynch, 2012).
Reaching a length of 2.5 m (Evans and Raga, 2001), and feeding predominantly on seals, the polar bear is the largest and most predatory of the bears alive today (Amstrup, 2003). Adapted to its environment, the polar bear lacks a shoulder hump and is more streamlined than other members of the family Ursidae (Evans and Raga, 2001). It is also covered almost entirely in thick, pigment-free fur, which appears white (Amstrup, 2003) and provides the primary means of insulation (Liwanag et al., 2012). Using its forelimbs to swim, the polar bear relies on ice, land and sea to survive; the sea ice providing a platform for hunting and a place for females to give birth (Durner et al., 2003). More detailed reading about polar bears can be found in Amstrup (2003).
1.3 Marine Mammal Distribution
Marine mammals as a whole are widespread and found in all oceans of the world, but individual species distributions vary substantially. The killer whale, for example, has a vast range that spans the majority of marine environments (see review by Forney and Wade, 2006), whilst other species are confined to small areas such as a subspecies of Hector's dolphin known as Maui's dolphin, which is endemic to North Island, New Zealand (Ferreira and Roberts, 2003).
Distributions of all marine mammals are displayed in Table 1.1; subspecies have been addressed separately in Table 1.2. Species follows the taxonomic list of marine mammals published by the Committee on Taxonomy (2014), but, considering the marine focus of this book, those species and subspecies deemed to have solely freshwater distributions have been excluded, but are addressed in freshwater regions tables available online (www.osc.co.uk).
Division of regions refers to the main oceans, enclosed and semi-enclosed seas and inter connected sub seas. For a full regional breakdown of boundaries, see Figure 1.1. Where marine mammal ranges did not fit succinctly with our divisions, we have specified further by classifying species as vagrant, visitor or endemic. As per Reeves and Notarbartolo di Sciara (2006), 'vagrant' applies to species with any verified presence in regions beyond their usual range, whilst 'visitor' species are observed more commonly in regions beyond their usual range, but are not considered native to these external regions. Endemism refers to geographical constraint and range limitation of a species to a localised region (e.g. if a species is found throughout the entire North Pacific, it is not considered to be endemic to the North Pacific).
More information on marine mammal ranges is sourced easily online. Useful resources include Culik (2010) and the IUCN red list (www.iucnredlist.org).
Regions in Figure 1.1 are divided up as follows:
• Antarctic: Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, Drake Passage, Ross Sea, Scotia Sea and Weddell Sea.
• Arctic: Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, Davis Strait, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait Kara Sea, Labrador Sea, Laptev Sea, North-western Passages, Norwegian Sea and White Sea.
(Continues…)
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Table of Contents
Preface
1. Introduction
2. Mitigation Measures
3. Sources of Anthropogenic Noise
4. Training
5. Offshore Life
6. MMO Theory and Practice
7. PAM Theory
8. Marine Mammal Vocalisations
9. PAM Practice
10. Report Writing
Glossary
Index