Underwater sound pollution
disrupts the communication methods of killer whales and could harm their
ability to locate salmon
7:05PM GMT 02 Feb 2016
Noise from ships interferes with
the ability of endangered killer whales to 'talk' to each other and hunt,
suggests a new study.
Researchers found
underwater sound pollution in coastal habitats disrupts the
orca's communication methods and ability to locate scarce salmon.
Scientists set out to discover if
noise from a nearby shipping lane interferes with the orca's ability to send
out clicks and listen for their echoes in the ocean off Seattle while hunting
salmon.
The researchers measured
underwater noise as ships passed their study site 3,000 times.
Research has shown that the
growth in commercial shipping has raised the intensity of low-frequency noise in the
ocean almost 10-fold since the 1960s.
Because the noise occurs at the
low frequencies used by baleen whales there is growing evidence it may impact
their ability to communicate, and therefore their survival.
But the team behind the new
research wanted to know if ship noise could extend to the higher frequencies
used by toothed whales and therefore pose similar threats to them.
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