1
|
Dingwall JT, Halliday WD, Diogou N, Niemi A, Steiner N, Insley SJ. The Arctic marine soundscape of the Amundsen Gulf, Western Canadian Arctic. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 204:116510. [PMID: 38805977 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
The underwater soundscape, a habitat component for Arctic marine mammals, is shifting. We examined the drivers of the underwater soundscape at three sites in the Amundsen Gulf, Northwest Territories, Canada from 2018 to 2019 and estimated the contribution of abiotic and biotic sources between 20 Hz and 24 kHz. Higher wind speeds and the presence of bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) vocalizations led to increased SPL (0.41 dB/km/h and 3.87 dB, respectively), while higher ice concentration and air temperature led to decreased SPL (-0.39 dB/% and - 0.096 dB/°C, respectively). Other marine mammals did not significantly impact the ambient soundscape. The presence of vessel traffic led to increased SPLs (12.37 dB) but was quieter at distances farther from the recorder (-2.57 dB/log m). The presence of high frequency and broadband signals produced by ice led to increased SPLs (7.60 dB and 10.16 dB, respectively).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob T Dingwall
- School of Earth and Ocean Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - William D Halliday
- School of Earth and Ocean Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
| | - Nikoletta Diogou
- School of Earth and Ocean Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
| | - Andrea Niemi
- Freshwater Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Nadja Steiner
- School of Earth and Ocean Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sidney, BC, Canada
| | - Stephen J Insley
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Escobar-Amado CD, Badiey M, Pecknold S. Automatic detection and classification of bearded seal vocalizations in the northeastern Chukchi Sea using convolutional neural networks. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 151:299. [PMID: 35105050 DOI: 10.1121/10.0009256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Bearded seals vocalizations are often analyzed manually or by using automatic detections that are manually validated. In this work, an automatic detection and classification system (DCS) based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) is proposed. Bearded seal sounds were year-round recorded by four spatially separated receivers on the Chukchi Continental Slope in Alaska in 2016-2017. The DCS is divided in two sections. First, regions of interest (ROI) containing possible bearded seal vocalizations are found by using the two-dimensional normalized cross correlation of the measured spectrogram and a representative template of two main calls of interest. Second, CNNs are used to validate and classify the ROIs among several possible classes. The CNNs are trained on 80% of the ROIs manually labeled from one of the four spatially separated recorders. When validating on the remaining 20%, the CNNs show an accuracy above 95.5%. To assess the generalization performance of the networks, the CNNs are tested on the remaining recorders, located at different positions, with a precision above 89.2% for the main class of the two types of calls. The proposed technique reduces the laborious task of manual inspection prone to inconstant bias and possible errors in detections.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mohsen Badiey
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
| | - Sean Pecknold
- Defence Research and Development Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B3K 5X5, Nova Scotia, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Stafford KM, Citta JJ, Okkonen SR, Zhang J. Bowhead and beluga whale acoustic detections in the western Beaufort Sea 2008-2018. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0253929. [PMID: 34181700 PMCID: PMC8238202 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) was established to detect environmental changes in the Pacific Arctic by regular monitoring of biophysical responses in each of 8 DBO regions. Here we examine the occurrence of bowhead and beluga whale vocalizations in the western Beaufort Sea acquired by acoustic instruments deployed from September 2008-July 2014 and September 2016-October 2018 to examine inter-annual variability of these Arctic endemic species in DBO Region 6. Acoustic data were collected on an oceanographic mooring deployed in the Beaufort shelfbreak jet at ~71.4°N, 152.0°W. Spectrograms of acoustic data files were visually examined for the presence or absence of known signals of bowhead and beluga whales. Weekly averages of whale occurrence were compared with outputs of zooplankton, temperature and sea ice from the BIOMAS model to determine if any of these variables influenced whale occurrence. In addition, the dates of acoustic whale passage in the spring and fall were compared to annual sea ice melt-out and freeze-up dates to examine changes in phenology. Neither bowhead nor beluga whale migration times changed significantly in spring, but bowhead whales migrated significantly later in fall from 2008-2018. There were no clear relationships between bowhead whales and the environmental variables, suggesting that the DBO 6 region is a migratory corridor, but not a feeding hotspot, for this species. Surprisingly, beluga whale acoustic presence was related to zooplankton biomass near the mooring, but this is unlikely to be a direct relationship: there are likely interactions of environmental drivers that result in higher occurrence of both modeled zooplankton and belugas in the DBO 6 region. The environmental triggers that drive the migratory phenology of the two Arctic endemic cetacean species likely extend from Bering Sea transport of heat, nutrients and plankton through the Chukchi and into the Beaufort Sea.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen M. Stafford
- Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - John J. Citta
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States of America
| | - Stephen R. Okkonen
- Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States of America
| | - Jinlun Zhang
- Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Insley SJ, Halliday WD, Mouy X, Diogou N. Bowhead whales overwinter in the Amundsen Gulf and Eastern Beaufort Sea. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:202268. [PMID: 33996127 PMCID: PMC8059979 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.202268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The bowhead whale is the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and is well adapted to this environment. Bowheads live near the polar ice edge for much of the year and although sea ice dynamics are not the only driver of their annual migratory movements, it likely plays a key role. Given the intrinsic variability of open water and ice, one might expect bowhead migratory plasticity to be high and linked to this proximate environmental factor. Here, through a network of underwater passive acoustic recorders, we document the first known occurrence of bowheads overwintering in what is normally their summer foraging grounds in the Amundsen Gulf and eastern Beaufort Sea. The underlying question is whether this is the leading edge of a phenological shift in a species' migratory behaviour in an environment undergoing dramatic shifts due to climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- S. J. Insley
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - W. D. Halliday
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - X. Mouy
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- JASCO Applied Sciences Ltd, Victoria, British Colombia, Canada
| | - N. Diogou
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Fish sounds near Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok in Canada’s Western Arctic. Polar Biol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-020-02701-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
6
|
Seasonal detections of bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) vocalizations in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait in relation to sea ice concentration. Polar Biol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-020-02723-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|
7
|
|