Abstract
Anthropogenic noise is a known threat to marine mammals. Decades of research have shown that harbor porpoises are particularly sensitive to anthropogenic noise, and geographic displacement is a common impact from noise exposure. Small, localized populations may be particularly vulnerable to impacts associated with displacement, as animals that are excluded from their primary habitat may have reduced foraging success and survival, or be exposed to increased threats of predation or bycatch. Seal bombs are underwater explosives used in purse seine fisheries to deter marine mammals during fishery operations. Pinnipeds are believed to be the primary target for seal bomb use, however there may be indirect impacts on harbor porpoises. Active purse seine fishing using seal bombs in the greater Monterey Bay area may, at times, span the entire range of the Monterey Bay harbor porpoise stock, which may lead to negative impacts for this population. In this contribution, we review anthropogenic noise as a threat to harbor porpoise, with a focus on the potential for impacts from seal bomb noise exposure in the Monterey Bay region.
Highlights
Decades of research have shown that harbor porpoises are sensitive to anthropogenic noise, and geographic displacement is a common impact from noise exposure
We review anthropogenic noise as a threat to harbor porpoises, with a focus on the potential for impacts from seal bomb noise exposure in the Monterey Bay region
We focus on the Monterey Bay harbor porpoise stock to evaluate potential impacts of seal bomb use in local fisheries and to identify assessment needs with respect to noise exposure from these explosives
Summary
Anthropogenic noise has been recognized as a threat to marine mammals for decades, making it a central issue for their conservation and management (Tougaard et al, 2015; National Marine Fisheries Service, 2016; Southall et al, 2019). For many marine mammals, hearing is the primary sensory modality, important for navigation, foraging, predator avoidance, and communication (Tyack, 1986). Noise can be considered as any sound that has the potential to interfere with normal functioning of auditory processes or cause harmful behavioral or physiological responses. Potential impacts of noise include interruption of essential behaviors (Wisniewska et al, 2018), masking
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