Cholewiak Danielle, DeAngelis Annamaria I, Palka Debra, Corkeron Peter J, Van Parijs Sofie M
Protected Species Branch, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA/NMFS, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
R Soc Open Sci. 2017 Dec 13;4(12):170940. doi: 10.1098/rsos.170940. eCollection 2017 Dec.
The use of commercial echosounders for scientific and industrial purposes is steadily increasing. In addition to traditional navigational and fisheries uses, commercial sonars are used extensively for oceanographic research, benthic habitat mapping, geophysical exploration, and ecosystem studies. Little is known about the effects of these acoustic sources on marine animals, though several studies have already demonstrated behavioural responses of cetaceans to shipboard echosounders. Some species of cetaceans are known to be particularly sensitive to acoustic disturbance, including beaked whales. In 2011 and 2013, we conducted cetacean assessment surveys in the western North Atlantic in which a suite of Simrad EK60 echosounders was used to characterize the distribution of prey along survey tracklines. Echosounders were alternated daily between active and passive mode, to determine whether their use affected visual and acoustic detection rates of beaked whales. A total of 256 groups of beaked whales were sighted, and 118 definitive acoustic detections were recorded. Regression analyses using generalized linear models (GLM) found that sea state and region were primary factors in determining visual sighting rates, while echosounder state was the primary driver for acoustic detections, with significantly fewer detections (only 3%) occurring when echosounders were active. These results indicate that beaked whales both detect and change their behaviour in response to commercial echosounders. The mechanism of this response is unknown, but could indicate interruption of foraging activity or vessel avoidance, with potential implications for management and mitigation of anthropogenic impacts.
商业回声测深仪在科学和工业领域的应用正在稳步增加。除了传统的导航和渔业用途外，商业声纳还广泛用于海洋学研究、海底栖息地测绘、地球物理勘探和生态系统研究。尽管已有多项研究证明了鲸类对船上回声测深仪的行为反应，但对于这些声源对海洋动物的影响仍知之甚少。已知某些鲸类物种，包括喙鲸，对声学干扰特别敏感。在2011年和2013年，我们在北大西洋西部进行了鲸类评估调查，使用了一套Simrad EK60回声测深仪来描述调查航线上猎物的分布情况。回声测深仪每天在主动模式和被动模式之间交替使用，以确定其使用是否会影响喙鲸的视觉和声学探测率。总共观察到256组喙鲸，并记录了118次明确的声学探测。使用广义线性模型（GLM）进行的回归分析发现，海况和区域是决定视觉观测率的主要因素，而回声测深仪状态是声学探测的主要驱动因素，当回声测深仪处于主动模式时，探测次数显著减少（仅3%）。这些结果表明，喙鲸既能探测到商业回声测深仪，又会因此改变其行为。这种反应的机制尚不清楚，但可能意味着觅食活动的中断或对船只的回避，这对人为影响的管理和缓解具有潜在意义。
