ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2012) — According to a NOAA-led paper published August 15 in the journal Conservation Biology, high levels of background noise, mainly due to ships, have reduced the ability of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales to communicate with each other by about two-thirds.
From 2007 until 2010, scientists from Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center, and Marine Acoustics Inc. used an array of acoustic recorders to monitor noise levels, measure levels of sound associated with vessels, and to record distinctive sounds made by multiple species of endangered baleen whales, including "up-calls" made by right whales to maintain contact with each other.
NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center documented more than 22,000 right whale contact calls as part of the study during April 2008, and software developed by Cornell and Marine Acoustics Inc. of Arlington, Va., aided in modeling ship noise propagation throughout the study area.
Continued: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120815142050.htm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!