Noisy human activities drown out
the voices of threatened whales
For release: October 22, 2013
Ithaca, NY--Whales use sound to communicate with others of their species about food, danger, breeding status, and health. But according to a study published in Animal Conservation, shipping noise is making it impossible for the whales to hear one another. Scientists placed underwater recording units in 12 locations off the coast of British Columbia, home to three threatened species: fin, humpback, and killer whales. In the noisiest locations, the researchers estimated killer whales would lose up to 97% of their “acoustic habitat,” meaning nearly all of their communication efforts would be masked by human-generated noise.
Senior Scientist Christopher Clark at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bioacoustics Research Program, and a co-author of the report, says:
“The spectacular coasts and marine areas of western Canada are under siege and starting to drown in a rising tide of acoustic smog. So too, are many regions of the world’s oceans. Within just half a century, half a lifetime for a great whale, enormous ocean areas have become acoustically industrialized as a result of human activities.”
“The recognized importance of natural quiet for marine animals is evidence of the value we place on the future health of not just whales, but entire living-ocean systems upon which we are dependent.”
“As a society we have a lot of work ahead of us to keep quiet ocean areas quiet and to turn those acoustically polluted areas back into quiet places where whales can live.”
“We’re the ones making the racket. Now it’s time for us to be good neighbors and quiet down, so that all ocean life can flourish."
The paper, titled “Acoustic quality of critical habitats for three threatened whale populations,” is authored by Rob Williams and E. Ashe of the Scottish Oceans Institute, with Christopher Clark and Dimitri Ponirakis of the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
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Note: Two interactive graphics comparing recordings of noisy and quiet periods at the Haro Strait and Kikimat study sites are available in PowerPoint format. Credit: Dimitri Ponirakis, Bioacoustics Research Program.
For interview, graphics, or study PDF contact:
Pat Leonard, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
pel27@cornell.edu
(607) 254-2137
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