Urbanisation and boating are the main contributors to underwater soundscapes in three temperate estuaries

Anthropogenic noise has been identified as one of the most harmful forms of global pollutants impacting both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. As global populations continue to increase, coastlines are seeing substantial increases in the level of urbanisation. Although measures are in place to min...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin 2024-09, Vol.206, p.116792, Article 116792
Main Authors: Valenzisi, Brittney, Parsons, Miles, Huggett, Megan, Raoult, Vincent, Gaston, Troy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthrophony
Anthropogenic sounds
Australia
Bioacoustics
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Estuaries
Estuarine soundscape
fauna
marine pollution
New South Wales
Noise
noise pollution
Ships
Sound
Soundscape ecology
Underwater noise
Urbanization
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Summary:Anthropogenic noise has been identified as one of the most harmful forms of global pollutants impacting both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. As global populations continue to increase, coastlines are seeing substantial increases in the level of urbanisation. Although measures are in place to minimise stress on fauna, they rarely consider the impact of anthropogenic noise. In Australia, New South Wales (NSW) estuaries have seen extensive increases in urbanisation in recent years. Yet, there remains minimal baseline data on their soundscapes to determine if noise pollution is a threat. This research provides a first assessment of baseline sounds across a temporal and seasonal scale. Recreational boating was the primary soundscape contributor in estuaries, and estuaries with higher urbanisation levels contained higher sound levels. This research provides useful information for managers of NSW estuaries and is of global relevance in an era of increasing generation of anthropogenic noise in estuarine and coastal systems. •Research occurred in Australian estuaries, where underwater soundscapes have been largely underexplored.•Recreational boating was the primary soundscape contributor.•Estuaries with higher urbanisation recorded higher sound levels.•Sound was louder in Summer over Winter and days were louder than nights correlating with patterns of human activity.
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116792