The coastal Arctic marine soundscape near Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada

The soundscape is an important habitat feature for marine animals, and climate change may cause large changes to the Arctic marine soundscape through sea ice loss and increased anthropogenic activity. We examined the marine soundscape over eight months near Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar biology 2020-06, Vol.43 (6), p.623-636
Main Authors: Halliday, William D., Pine, Matthew K., Mouy, Xavier, Kortsalo, Piia, Hilliard, R. Casey, Insley, Stephen J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ablation
Acoustics
Anthropogenic factors
Aquatic habitats
Aquatic mammals
Autumn
Biological noise
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Climate change
Ecology
Fish
Fishes
Global temperature changes
Human influences
Life Sciences
Mammals
Marine animals
Marine fish
Marine fishes
Marine mammals
Marine organisms
Microbiology
Oceanography
Original Paper
Plant Sciences
Sea ice
Sea vessels
Seals
Seals (animals)
Seasonal variations
Sound pressure
Summer
Traffic speed
Wind
Wind speed
Zoology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The soundscape is an important habitat feature for marine animals, and climate change may cause large changes to the Arctic marine soundscape through sea ice loss and increased anthropogenic activity. We examined the marine soundscape over eight months near Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada, and assessed the relative contribution of the geophony (wind and wave sounds), biophony (marine mammal and fish sounds), and anthrophony (noise from vessel traffic). Sound pressure levels (SPL) were significantly higher during the summer than during the autumn and winter, and these differences were caused by increased wind/waves and vessel traffic in the summer. Increased wind speed drove increased SPL, while increased ice concentration resulted in decreased SPL. When vessel traffic was closer, SPL was higher. Marine mammal and fish vocalizations did not influence SPL; however, timing of vocalizations of both whales and seals matched seasonal patterns shown in other studies within the region. Overall, the marine soundscape near Ulukhaktok varied greatly through time and may be prone to large changes in the future as the ice-free season continues to lengthen and more vessels travel through the region.
ISSN:0722-4060
1432-2056
DOI:10.1007/s00300-020-02665-8