Marine Mammals and Low-Frequency Sound Progress Since 1994 (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-8
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Some whales, seals, and fish use low-frequency sound to communicate and to sense their environments. For example, baleen whales and some toothed whales are known to use and respond to low-frequency sound emitted by other 1 Decibels are used to describe the ratio between two quantities, in this case, the ratio of the sound pressure level (SPL)
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were implemented by 1999, but for a variety of reasons others were not. For its update of research priorities related to marine mammals and lowfrequency sound, the Committee augmented the MMRP results with results from the scientific literature, ONR's program on marine mammals, and observations of the reactions of marine mammals to tests of the Navy's low-frequency active (LFA)
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Statements about whether ATOC should be allowed to continue, based on MMRP and other results, are clearly outside the Committee' s statement of task. However, the Committee does offer suggestions about how future large-scale acoustic tomography experiments could be designed to accomplish appropriate monitoring for scientific purposes and mitigation measures to decrease the possibility of harm to marine mammals.
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Cooperative funding of research by government and industries responsible for the noise could result in more rapid advance of knowledge about the effects of sound on marine mammals and cooperative solutions to noise problems. This report includes a number of recommendations to Congress, to NOAA in its regulatory role, and to research sponsors, as well as to the scientific community.
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Further, NMFS should work cooperatively with ONR to develop technology and programs for monitoring ambient sound levels and noise pollution in critical marine mammal habitats and to develop and implement methods for obtaining data on the hearing capabilities of marine mammals, including data on auditory sensitivity, damage thresholds, and potential for behavioral disruptions of representatives of all types of marine mammals (see Box 5.1~. Recommendations for Research Sponsors Developing an understanding of the effects of low-frequency sound on marine mammals will require a more sustained and integrated approach than has
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the responses of free-ranging marine mammals to human-generated acoustic stimuli, including repeated exposure of the same individuals to the same stimulus; the response of deep-diving marine mammals to low-frequency sounds whose characteristics duplicate or approximate those produced by acoustic oceanographers and other sources of human-generated sound, such as low-frequency military sonars and sounds used for seismic exploration; · basic hearing capabilities of various species of marine mammals; · hearing capabilities of larger marine mammals that are not amenable to laboratory study; · audiometric data on multiple animals of different sexes and ages in order to understand variance in hearing capabilities within a given species; · sound pressure levels that produce temporary and permanent hearing loss .
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report described research on marine mammals that could benefit from binational research by the United States and Mexico. Europe is also a likely source of partners for cooperative research and management, given the shared marine mammal stocks and the existing cooperation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which shares both active and passive sonar sources with the United States.
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The actions recommended in this report could result in significant advances in knowledge and better regulation of human activities that might be harmful to marine mammals.
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