| A threatened beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) population in the traffic lane: Vessel-generated noise characteristics of the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, Canada. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 22225023 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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The threatened resident beluga population of the St. Lawrence Estuary shares the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park with significant anthropogenic noise sources, including marine commercial traffic and a well-established, vessel-based whale-watching industry. Frequency-dependent (FD) weighting was used to approximate beluga hearing sensitivity to determine how noise exposure varied in time and space at six sites of high beluga summer residency. The relative contribution of each source to acoustic habitat degradation was estimated by measuring noise levels throughout the summer and noise signatures of typical vessel classes with respect to traffic volume and sound propagation characteristics. Rigid-hulled inflatable boats were the dominant noise source with respect to estimated beluga hearing sensitivity in the studied habitats due to their high occurrence and proximity, high correlation with site-specific FD-weighted sound levels, and the dominance of mid-frequencies (0.3-23 kHz) in their noise signatures. Median C-weighted sound pressure level (SPL(RMS)) had a range of 19 dB re 1 μPa between the noisiest and quietest sites. Broadband SPL(RMS) exceeded 120 dB re 1 μPa 8-32% of the time depending on the site. Impacts of these noise levels on St. Lawrence beluga will depend on exposure recurrence and individual responsiveness. |
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Authors:
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Ian H McQuinn; Véronique Lesage; Dominic Carrier; Geneviève Larrivée; Yves Samson; Sylvain Chartrand; Robert Michaud; James Theriault |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE |
Journal Detail:
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Title: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Volume: 130 ISSN: 1520-8524 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2011 Dec |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2012-1-9 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7503051 Medline TA: J Acoust Soc Am Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: 3661 Citation Subset: - |
Affiliation:
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Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 850, Route de la Mer, Mont-Joli, Québec G5H 3Z4, Canada. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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