Stuck in a corner: Anthropogenic noise threatens narwhals in their once pristine Arctic habitat

Author:

Tervo Outi M.1ORCID,Blackwell Susanna B.23ORCID,Ditlevsen Susanne4ORCID,Garde Eva1ORCID,Hansen Rikke G.1,Samson Adeline L.5,Conrad Alexander S.2,Heide-Jørgensen Mads Peter1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Strandgade 91,2, DK-1401 Copenhagen K, Denmark.

2. Greeneridge Sciences Inc., Santa Barbara, CA, USA.

3. Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.

4. Data Science Laboratory, Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

5. University Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble Institute of Engineering, LJK, 38000 Grenoble, France.

Abstract

Niche-conservative species are especially susceptible to changes in their environment, and detecting the negative effects of new stressors in their habitats is vital for safeguarding of these species. In the Arctic, human disturbance including marine traffic and exploration of resources is increasing rapidly due to climate change–induced reduction of sea ice. Here, we show that the narwhal, Monodon monoceros , is extremely sensitive to human-made noise. Narwhals avoided deep diving (> 350 m) with simultaneous reduction of foraging and increased shallow diving activity as a response to either ship sound alone or ship sound with concurrent seismic airgun pulses. Normal behavior decreased by 50 to 75% at distances where received sound levels were below background noise. Narwhals were equally responsive to both disturbance types, hence demonstrating their acute sensitivity to ship sound. This sensitivity coupled with their special behavioral-ecological strategy including a narrow ecological niche and high site fidelity makes them thus especially vulnerable to human impacts in the Arctic.

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Subject

Multidisciplinary

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