scholarly journals Birds of a feather: Hearing and potential noise impacts in puffins (Fratercula arctica)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Aran Mooney ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Kirstin Anderson Hansen ◽  
Ole Næsbye Larsen ◽  
Magnus Wahlberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fratercula Arctica ◽  
Noise Impacts

Interdependencies in Air Quality and Noise Impacts for Landing and Takeoff Operations

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Barrett ◽  
Tom Reynolds ◽  
Maria Vera Morales ◽  
Zia Wadud ◽  
Rex Britter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Noise Impacts

Noise Impacts on Pinniped Hearing

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Kastak ◽  
Colleen Reichmuth Kastak
Keyword(s):  
Noise Impacts

The impacts of anthropogenic ocean noise on cetaceans and implications for management

2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (11) ◽  
pp. 1091-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.S. Weilgart
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Seismic Exploration ◽  
Foraging Efficiency ◽  
Cetacean Species ◽  
Ocean Noise ◽  
Beaked Whales ◽  
Noise Impacts

Ocean noise pollution is of special concern for cetaceans, as they are highly dependent on sound as their principal sense. Sound travels very efficiently underwater, so the potential area impacted can be thousands of square kilometres or more. The principal anthropogenic noise sources are underwater explosions (nuclear and otherwise), shipping, seismic exploration by mainly the oil and gas industries, and naval sonar operations. Strandings and mortalities of especially beaked whales (family Ziphiidae) have in many cases been conclusively linked to noise events such as naval maneuvers involving tactical sonars or seismic surveys, though other cetacean species may also be involved. The mechanisms behind this mortality are still unknown, but are most likely related to gas and fat emboli at least partially mediated by a behavioral response, such as a change in diving pattern. Estimated received sound levels in these events are typically not high enough to cause hearing damage, implying that the auditory system may not always be the best indicator for noise impacts. Beaked whales are found in small, possibly genetically isolated, local populations that are resident year-round. Thus, even transient and localized acoustic impacts can have prolonged and serious population consequences, as may have occurred following at least one stranding. Populations may also be threatened by noise through reactions such as increased stress levels, abandonment of important habitat, and “masking” or the obscuring of natural sounds. Documented changes in vocal behavior may lead to reductions in foraging efficiency or mating opportunities. Responses are highly variable between species, age classes, behavioral states, etc., making extrapolations problematic. Also, short-term responses may not be good proxies of long-term population-level impacts. There are many examples of apparent tolerance of noise by cetaceans, however. Noise can also affect cetaceans indirectly through their prey. Fish show permanent and temporary hearing loss, reduced catch rates, stress, and behavioral reactions to noise. Management implications of noise impacts include difficulties in establishing “safe” exposure levels, shortcomings of some mitigation tools, the need for precaution in the form of reducing noise levels and distancing noise from biologically important areas, and the role of marine protected areas and monitoring in safeguarding cetaceans especially from cumulative and synergistic effects.

scholarly journals Size variation in mid-Holocene North Atlantic Puffins indicates a dynamic response to climate change

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246888
Author(s):  
Samuel James Walker ◽  
Hanneke Johanna Maria Meijer
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Biometric Data ◽  
Climatic Oscillations ◽  
Fratercula Arctica ◽  
Modern Breeding ◽  
Atlantic Puffin ◽  
Osteological Characters

Seabirds are one of the most at-risk groups, with many species in decline. In Scandinavia, seabirds are at a heightened risk of extinction due to accelerated global warming. Norway is home to significant portion of the European Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) populations, but Norwegian populations have declined significantly during the last decades. In this paper we use biometric data from modern and archaeological F. arctica specimens to investigate patterns in body size variation over time of this iconic species. We aimed to set out a baseline for our archaeological comparison by firstly investigating whether modern subspecies of F. arctica are reflected in the osteological characters and are enough to distinguish subspecies from the bones alone. We then investigated if archaeological remains of F. arctica differ in size from the modern subspecies. Our results show that the subspecies Fratercula arctica naumanni was distinctly larger than the other subspecies. However, Fratercula arctica arctica and Fratercula arctica grabae were difficult to separate based on size. This generally supports ornithological observations. Post-Medieval F. arctica bones from Måsøy were similar to modern F. a. arctica populations. The mid-Holocene remains from Dollsteinhola overlaps with the modern size ranges of F. a. arctica and F. a. grabae but are generally shorter and more robust. Dollsteinhola is located close to the borders of the modern breeding ranges of both F. a. arctica and F. a. grabae. We consider it therefore likely that given the mid-Holocene climatic oscillations, breeding ranges of the two subspecies shifted north or south accordingly. However, this does not explain the different proportions of the Dollsteinhola specimens. Our data provide the first evidence for shifting distributions in ancient Atlantic Puffins and represent the first osteological analysis of Fratercula arctica subspecies.

Kinematics of diving Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica L.):evidence for an active upstroke

2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-378
Author(s):  
L. Christoffer Johansson ◽  
Björn S. Wetterholm Aldrin
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Fratercula Arctica ◽  
Induced Drag ◽  
Video Images ◽  
Hand Bones ◽  
On Line ◽  
Oscillating Motion ◽  
Drag Ratio ◽  
Wing Tip ◽  
Lift To Drag Ratio

SUMMARY To examine the propulsion mechanism of diving Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica), their three-dimensional kinematics was investigated by digital analysis of sequential video images of dorsal and lateral views. During the dives of this wing-propelled bird, the wings are partly folded, with the handwings directed backwards. The wings go through an oscillating motion in which the joint between the radius-ulna and the hand bones leads the motion, with the wing tip following. There is a large rotary motion of the wings during the stroke, with the wings being pronated at the beginning of the downstroke and supinated at the end of the downstroke/beginning of the upstroke. Calculated instantaneous velocities and accelerations of the bodies of the birds show that, during the downstroke, the birds accelerate upwards and forwards. During the upstroke, the birds accelerate downwards and, in some sequences analysed, also forwards, but in most cases the birds decelerate. In all the upstrokes analysed, the forward/backward acceleration shows the same pattern, with a reduced deceleration or even a forward acceleration during ‘mid’ upstroke indicating the production of a forward force, thrust. Our results show that the Atlantic puffin can use an active upstroke during diving, in contradiction to previous data. Furthermore, we suggest that the partly folded wings of diving puffins might act as efficient aft-swept wingtips, reducing the induced drag and increasing the lift-to-drag ratio. A movie is available on-line.

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