The noisy underwater soundscape of central New Zealand

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-03-03 11:01

Australia; New Zealand; International

Whale calls, weather, shipping, and earthquakes are some of the under-sea sounds heard by marine scientists monitoring waters from South Taranaki to Kaikōura. The researchers say the whales they heard include Pygmy blues, Humpback, Antarctic blue, and Antarctic minke during their soundscape analysis. Wind and rain increased ambient sound levels in the deep, and sounds from shipping, seismic surveys, and quakes overlapped with frequencies used by the whales - posing potential stressors to the species.

News release

From: The Royal Society

Studying the acoustic environment (the soundscape) of an area can help inform management by identifying where free-ranging species could overlap with potential stressors. In this passive acoustic monitoring study in the marine environment of central New Zealand, calls from blue whales, humpback whales, and Antarctic minke whales were detected, alongside sounds from weather, waves, and earthquakes, as well as human-made sounds; shipping and seismic surveying. Both natural and anthropogenic sounds overlapped in time, space, and frequency with whale calls, which could interfere with whale behaviour and communication. Soundscape analysis is valuable technique to obtain a holistic overview of an environment

Attachments

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public. Research URLs will go live after the embargo ends.

Research The Royal Society, Web page

Journal/
conference: Royal Society Open Science

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Auckland, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Funder: This work was supported by OMV New Zealand Ltd, Chevron New Zealand Holdings LLC, Marlborough District Council, and Woodside Energy [Woodside Marine Mammal Research Grant, awarded to V.E.W.]. V.E.W. is also funded by the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship. G.G. and K.T.G. received co-funding by NIWA Coasts and Oceans Programme 4.

Media Contact/s

Contact details are only visible to registered journalists.