Assessing anthropogenic noise impacts and relevant soundscape cues for marine invertebrates: leveraging squid and coral reefs as model systems

Sound is utilized by marine animal taxa for many ecologically important functions, and these taxa are vulnerable to adverse effects of anthropogenic noise on hearing and behavior. However, little is known about marine invertebrates’ responses to anthropogenic noise, and the ambient environmental sounds (“soundscapes”) they detect and respond to. Most acoustic studies report sound pressure (detected by mammals and some fish), but few report particle motion, the back-and-forth vibratory component of sound detected by marine invertebrates. I investigated invertebrate use of and response to sounds in two facets: 1) behavioral responses of longfin squid, Doryteuthis pealeii to anthropogenic noise, and 2) particle motion of coral reef soundscapes in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In laboratory-based experiments I exposed D. pealeii to construction noise originally recorded from an offshore wind farm. I found significant increases in squids’ alarm responses and in failed prey capture attempts during noise. Conversely, noise exposure had no significant effects on reproductive behaviors of groups of D. pealeii, indicating high motivation of these squid to reproduce during this stressor. Collectively, these experiments revealed the importance of considering behavioral context in studies and regulatory decisions regarding invertebrates’ susceptibility to anthropogenic noise impacts. In studying coral reef soundscapes, I reported particle motion trends over several months for coral reefs varying in habitat quality, including coral cover and fish abundance. I found acoustic properties over which particle motion closely scaled with pressure, and others over which it did not. I compared soundscape data with particle motion hearing thresholds, and found that invertebrates may only detect high amplitude and low frequency transient sound cues on reefs, such as those produced by fishes. My research bring new insights on natural and anthropogenic sound cues detectable by marine invertebrates, and how and when invertebrates will be vulnerable to anthropogenic noise pollution.

Advanced procedure noise model validation using Seattle International Airport noise monitor networks

Advanced operational flight procedures that utilize modifications to thrust, airspeed, altitude, and configuration can be implemented to mitigate noise impacts for communities surrounding airports. Evaluating and designing such procedures requires accurate modeling of the aircraft performance, source noise, and atmospheric propagation of the source noise to the ground. Modeling frameworks to assess advanced procedures have been developed but must be validated to ensure their results are reasonable. This paper presents validation of such noise models using a network of ground noise monitoring data at Seattle-Tacoma International airport and ADS-B operational radar flight profiles from the OpenSky database. Modeled noise from operational flights of several aircraft types are shown to be consistent with noise monitor data when reasonable flap settings and atmospheric corrections for the actual weather at the time of flight are used. Discrepancies that exist between the modeled and measured noise results are identified to determine where current noise modeling methods must be improved to accurately represent all relevant noise sources.

Automate TNM Input Process Using Python

Since 2004, we have been using TNM 2.5 to analyze the noise impacts from traffic. The decades-old Graphical User Interface (GUI) is inadequate to handle large scale projects with hundreds of receptors and roadways. TNM 3.0 has a vastly better user interface, but its import function is still buggy as of early 2021. Therefore, we have developed an interim solution to automate massive input using ESRI ArcGIS software and Python's third-party packages such as Pandas, PyAutoGUI, and subprocess. This process is used to automate building barrier input and roadway/traffic inputs in the old TNM 2.5 user interface.

PUBLIC OPINION ON NOISE DISTURBANCE DUE TO THE ACTIVITIES OF HUSEIN SASTRANEGARA AIRPORT, BANDUNG, INDONESIA

Airport is a facility to accommodate arrivals and departures as well as aircraft movements that have the potential to cause noise impacts. This research was conducted to obtain opinions from the public regarding the noise that occurs around Husein Sastranegara Airport, Bandung, Indonesia. In addition, the determination of the airport noise area was also carried out using the Weighted Equivalent Continuous Perceived Noise Level (WECPNL) method. There are 12 measurement points, namely at distances of 100 m, 500 m, and 1500 m in each of the North, East, South, and West directions. Opinions regarding the noise that occurred were obtained from 150 respondents from the community around the airport. The results of the study can be concluded that the highest WECPNL index value is found on the 100 m runway, the WECPNL index value is 76.39, the 500 m distance the WECPNL index value is 62.71, and the 1500 m distance the WECPNL index value is 52.74. The results of the WECPNL index at Husein Sastranegara International Airport Bandung have a level 2 noise area where school buildings and settlements should not be allowed. The results of the interviews show that as many as 54% of respondents feel disturbed by the noise caused by the activities of Husein Sastranegara Airport.

Traffic noise inhibits cognitive performance in a songbird

Noise pollution is commonly associated with human environments and mounting evidence indicates that noise has a variety of negative effects on wildlife. Noise has also been linked to cognitive impairment in humans and because many animals use cognitively intensive processes to overcome environmental challenges, noise pollution has the potential to interfere with cognitive function in animals living in urban areas or near roads. We experimentally examined how road traffic noise impacts avian cognitive performance by testing adult zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ) on a battery of foraging tasks in the presence or absence of traffic noise playback. Here, we show that traffic noise reduces cognitive performance, including inhibitory control, motor learning, spatial memory and social learning, but not associative colour learning. This study demonstrates a novel mechanism through which anthropogenic noise can impact animals, namely through cognitive interference, and suggests that noise pollution may have previously unconsidered consequences for animals.

Above and below: Military Aircraft Noise in Air and under Water at Whidbey Island, Washington

Military operations may result in noise impacts on surrounding communities and wildlife. A recent transition to more powerful military aircraft and a national consolidation of training operations to Whidbey Island, WA, USA, provided a unique opportunity to measure and assess both in-air and underwater noise associated with military aircraft. In-air noise levels (110 ± 4 dB re 20 µPa rms and 107 ± 5 dBA) exceeded known thresholds of behavioral and physiological impacts for humans, as well as terrestrial birds and mammals. Importantly, we demonstrate that the number and cumulative duration of daily overflights exceed those in a majority of studies that have evaluated impacts of noise from military aircraft worldwide. Using a hydrophone deployed near one runway, we also detected sound signatures of aircraft at a depth of 30 m below the sea surface, with noise levels (134 ± 3 dB re 1 µPa rms) exceeding thresholds known to trigger behavioral changes in fish, seabirds, and marine mammals, including Endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Our study highlights challenges and problems in evaluating the implications of increased noise pollution from military operations, and knowledge gaps that should be prioritized with respect to understanding impacts on people and sensitive wildlife.