Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to announce the publication of our paper, titled: Marine soundscape planning: Seeking acoustic
niches for anthropogenic sound, in the Journal of Ecoacoustics.
Abstract
Both marine mammals and hydroacoustic instruments employ underwater sound to communicate, navigate or infer information
about the marine environment. Concurrent timing of acoustic activities using similar frequency regimes may result in
(potentially mutual) interference of acoustic signals when both sources are within audible range of the recipient. While marine
mammal fitness might be negatively impacted upon, both on individual and population level, hydroacoustic studies may
generate low quality data or suffer data loss as a result of bioacoustic interference. This article pursues, in analogy to landscape
planning, the concept of marine soundscape planning to reconcile potentially competing uses of acoustic space by
managing the anthropogenic sound sources. We here present a conceptual framework exploring the potential of soundscape
planning in reducing (mutual) acoustic interference between hydroacoustic instrumentation and marine mammals. The basis
of this framework is formed by the various mechanisms by which acoustic niche formation (i.e., the partitioning of the
acoustic space) occurs in species-rich communities that acoustically coexist while maintaining high fidelity (hi-fi)
soundscapes, i.e., by acoustically partitioning the environment on the basis of time, space, frequency and signal structure.
Hydroacoustic measurements often exhibit certain flexibility in their timing, and even instrument positioning, potentially offering
the opportunity to minimize the ecological imprint of their operation. This study explores how the principle of acoustic
niches could contribute to reduce potential (mutual) acoustic interference based on actual acoustic data from three recording
locations in polar oceans. By employing marine soundscape planning strategies, entailing shifting the timing or position of
hydroacoustic experiments, or adapting signal structure or frequency, we exemplify the potential efficacy of smart planning
for four different hydroacoustic instrumentation types: multibeam echosounders, air guns, RAFOS (Ranging and Fixing of
Sound) and tomographic sound sources.
The article is published under an open access license and can be accessed here:
https://doi.org/10.22261/JEA.5GSNT8.
Best Regards,
Ilse Van Opzeeland
--
Dr I.C. Van Opzeeland
Ocean Acoustics Lab
Alfred Wegener Institute
Helmholtz Centre for Polar
and Marine Research
Am Alten Hafen 26
27568 Bremerhaven
(+49)(0)471 4831 1169
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