Avoidance of Pile-Driving Noise by Hudson River Sturgeon During Construction of the New NY Bridge at Tappan Zee.

Abstract

Sturgeon movements were monitored during a pile-driving operation. Fewer sturgeon were detected during pile driving and remained for a shorter time than during silent control periods. Moreover, the short time spent by sturgeon near pile driving suggests that they were unlikely to have reached the criterion of 187 dB re 1 μPa(2)·s cumulative sound exposure level. These results suggest that sturgeon are likely to avoid impact pile driving and not remain long enough to experience physiological effects, thus providing empirical evidence that the 206 dB re 1 μPa peak sound pressure level is the appropriate criterion for assessing the impacts of pile-driving noise on sturgeon.