Public policy issues in animal bioacoustics

Abstract

Control of anthropogenic noise in many terrestrial and underwater environments is crucial for maintaining communication, health, and normal behavior of animals. Noise can be an issue for any species; usually, however, endangered and threatened species and marine mammals are the ones provided legal protection under the Endangered Species Act and/or the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Recent substantiated noise effects in the ocean have received much publicity and generated a more global approach to noise control. However, there are also cases where publicity was not accompanied by scientific data substantiating effects (e.g., an incident involving a $1 million noise barrier installed to protect passerine birds). The public and environmental managers have had difficulty developing adequate guidelines not only because necessary data are often lacking, but also because the manner in which funding is allocated—noise-producing agencies or private organizations are often pressured to fund studies—gives rise to inevitable conflicts of interest (or the perception thereof). Examples of recent noise-related controversies will be presented to examine the role of scientists, engineers, and professional organizations such as ASA in dealing with conflicts of interest and formulating public policy.