Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Glob Chang Biol. 2021 Oct;27(19):4839-4848. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15798. Epub 2021 Jul 22.
From midnight of 26 March 2020, New Zealand became one of the first countries to enter a strict lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown banned all non-essential services and travel both on land and sea. Overnight, the country's busiest coastal waterway, the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, became devoid of almost all recreational and non-essential commercial vessels. An almost instant change in the marine soundscape ensued, with ambient sound levels in busy channels dropping nearly threefold the first 12 h. This sudden drop led fish and dolphins to experience an immediate increase in their communication ranges by up to an estimated 65%. Very low vessel activity during the lockdown (indicated by the presence of vessel noise over the day) revealed new insights into cumulative noise effects from vessels on auditory masking. For example, at sites nearer Auckland City, communication ranges increased approximately 18 m (22%) or 50 m (11%) for every 10% decrease in vessel activity for fish and dolphins, respectively. However, further from the city and in deeper water, these communication ranges were increased by approximately 13 m (31%) or 510 m (20%). These new data demonstrate how noise from small vessels can impact underwater soundscapes and how marine animals will have to adapt to ever-growing noise pollution.
自 2020 年 3 月 26 日午夜起，新西兰成为首批实施严格封锁措施以控制 COVID-19 传播的国家之一。封锁措施禁止所有非必要的服务和陆海通行。一夜之间，该国最繁忙的沿海水域豪拉基湾海洋公园几乎没有了所有娱乐和非必要的商业船只。海洋声景随之立即发生变化，繁忙航道的环境声级在头 12 小时内下降了近三分之二。这种突然的下降导致鱼类和海豚的交流范围立即增加了约 65%。封锁期间船只活动非常低（通过白天船只噪音的存在来指示），这揭示了有关船只对听觉掩蔽累积噪声影响的新见解。例如，在奥克兰市附近的地点，鱼类和海豚的交流范围分别增加了约 18 米（22%）或 50 米（11%），每减少 10%的船只活动。然而，在离城市更远和更深的水域，这些交流范围增加了约 13 米（31%）或 510 米（20%）。这些新数据表明，小型船只的噪音如何影响水下声景，以及海洋动物将不得不适应不断增长的噪声污染。
