Decreased resting and nursing in short-finned pilot whales when exposed to louder petrol engine noise of a hybrid whale-watch vessel

Abstract Vessel noise is a primary driver of behavioural disturbance in cetaceans, which are targeted during whale-watch activities. Despite the growing, global effort for implementing best-practice principles, to date, there are no regulations on whale-watch vessel noise levels. Here, we test the h...

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Autores principales:	P. Arranz, M. Glarou, K. R. Sprogis
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c1c4317922464bfb8fcd3f48fba7f961
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c1c4317922464bfb8fcd3f48fba7f9612021-11-14T12:23:04ZDecreased resting and nursing in short-finned pilot whales when exposed to louder petrol engine noise of a hybrid whale-watch vessel10.1038/s41598-021-00487-02045-2322https://doaj.org/article/c1c4317922464bfb8fcd3f48fba7f9612021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-00487-0https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Vessel noise is a primary driver of behavioural disturbance in cetaceans, which are targeted during whale-watch activities. Despite the growing, global effort for implementing best-practice principles, to date, there are no regulations on whale-watch vessel noise levels. Here, we test the hypothesis that a whale-watch vessel with a low noise emission will not elicit short-term behavioural responses in toothed whales compared to a vessel with a louder engine. We measured behavioural responses (n = 36) of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) to whale-watch vessel approaches (range 60 m, speed 1.5 kn). Treatment approaches with a quieter electric engine (136–140 dB) compared to the same vessel with a louder petrol engine (151–139 dB) (low-frequency–mid-frequency weighted source levels, re 1 µPa RMS @ 1 m) were examined. Focal whales were resting mother and calves in small group sizes. During petrol engine treatments, the mother’s mean resting time decreased by 29% compared to the control (GLM, p = 0.009). The mean proportion of time nursing for the calf was significantly influenced by petrol engine vessel passes, with a 81% decrease compared to the control (GLM, p = 0.01). There were no significant effects on behaviour from the quieter electric engine. Thus, to minimise disturbance on the activity budget of pilot whales, whale-watch vessels would ideally have source levels as low as possible, below 150 dB re 1 µPa RMS @ 1 m and perceived above ambient noise.P. ArranzM. GlarouK. R. SprogisNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q P. Arranz M. Glarou K. R. Sprogis Decreased resting and nursing in short-finned pilot whales when exposed to louder petrol engine noise of a hybrid whale-watch vessel
description	Abstract Vessel noise is a primary driver of behavioural disturbance in cetaceans, which are targeted during whale-watch activities. Despite the growing, global effort for implementing best-practice principles, to date, there are no regulations on whale-watch vessel noise levels. Here, we test the hypothesis that a whale-watch vessel with a low noise emission will not elicit short-term behavioural responses in toothed whales compared to a vessel with a louder engine. We measured behavioural responses (n = 36) of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) to whale-watch vessel approaches (range 60 m, speed 1.5 kn). Treatment approaches with a quieter electric engine (136–140 dB) compared to the same vessel with a louder petrol engine (151–139 dB) (low-frequency–mid-frequency weighted source levels, re 1 µPa RMS @ 1 m) were examined. Focal whales were resting mother and calves in small group sizes. During petrol engine treatments, the mother’s mean resting time decreased by 29% compared to the control (GLM, p = 0.009). The mean proportion of time nursing for the calf was significantly influenced by petrol engine vessel passes, with a 81% decrease compared to the control (GLM, p = 0.01). There were no significant effects on behaviour from the quieter electric engine. Thus, to minimise disturbance on the activity budget of pilot whales, whale-watch vessels would ideally have source levels as low as possible, below 150 dB re 1 µPa RMS @ 1 m and perceived above ambient noise.
format	article
author	P. Arranz M. Glarou K. R. Sprogis
author_facet	P. Arranz M. Glarou K. R. Sprogis
author_sort	P. Arranz
title	Decreased resting and nursing in short-finned pilot whales when exposed to louder petrol engine noise of a hybrid whale-watch vessel
title_short	Decreased resting and nursing in short-finned pilot whales when exposed to louder petrol engine noise of a hybrid whale-watch vessel
title_full	Decreased resting and nursing in short-finned pilot whales when exposed to louder petrol engine noise of a hybrid whale-watch vessel
title_fullStr	Decreased resting and nursing in short-finned pilot whales when exposed to louder petrol engine noise of a hybrid whale-watch vessel
title_full_unstemmed	Decreased resting and nursing in short-finned pilot whales when exposed to louder petrol engine noise of a hybrid whale-watch vessel
title_sort	decreased resting and nursing in short-finned pilot whales when exposed to louder petrol engine noise of a hybrid whale-watch vessel
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/c1c4317922464bfb8fcd3f48fba7f961
work_keys_str_mv	AT parranz decreasedrestingandnursinginshortfinnedpilotwhaleswhenexposedtolouderpetrolenginenoiseofahybridwhalewatchvessel AT mglarou decreasedrestingandnursinginshortfinnedpilotwhaleswhenexposedtolouderpetrolenginenoiseofahybridwhalewatchvessel AT krsprogis decreasedrestingandnursinginshortfinnedpilotwhaleswhenexposedtolouderpetrolenginenoiseofahybridwhalewatchvessel
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Decreased resting and nursing in short-finned pilot whales when exposed to louder petrol engine noise of a hybrid whale-watch vessel

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