Characterizing offshore polar ocean soundscapes using ecoacoustic intensity and diversity metrics

Polar offshore environments are considered the last pristine soundscapes, but accelerating climate change and increasing human activity threaten their integrity. In order to assess the acoustic state of polar oceans, there is the need to investigate their soundscape characteristics more holistically. We apply a set of 14 ecoacoustic metrics (EAMs) to identify which metrics are best suited to reflect the characteristics of disturbed and naturally intact polar offshore soundscapes. We used two soundscape datasets: (i) the Arctic eastern Fram Strait (FS), which is already impacted by anthropogenic noise, and (ii) the quasi-pristine Antarctic Weddell Sea (WS). Our results show that EAMs when applied in concert can be used to quantitatively assess soundscape variability, enabling the appraisal of marine soundscapes over broad spatiotemporal scales. The tested set of EAMs was able to show that the eastern FS, which is virtually free from sea ice, lacks seasonal soundscape dynamics and exhibits low acoustic complexity owing to year-round wind-mediated sounds and anthropogenic noise. By contrast, the WS exhibits pronounced seasonal soundscape dynamics with greater soundscape heterogeneity driven in large part by the vocal activity of marine mammal communities, whose composition in turn varies with the prevailing seasonal sea ice conditions

Passive acoustic monitoring data recorded by recorder SV1009 at mooring AWI208-08 in the Weddell Sea, Southern Ocean, in 2017/2018

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data were collected by recorder SV1009 of type Sono.Vault (manufactured by develogic GmbH, Hamburg, Germany) at 65°41.79' S, 36°41.012' W, mooring AWI208-08, in Weddell Sea, Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. During a deployment period from January 2017 to January 2019, passive acoustic data were collected from January 2017 to May 2018 (recording period) by SV1009 as part of the Hybrid Antarctic Float Observing System (HAFOS) in the Weddell Sea. The recorder was moored at 1032 m depth and scheduled to record continuously at a sample rate of 6,857 Hz. Further details about the data acquisition and processing of this data set can be found in the accompanying metadata file (see Additional metadata) as well as the data processing report (see Data Processing Report). Passive acoustic data archived here represent data processing Level 1+, according to the standards defined in the associated Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) Glossary (Thomisch et al. 2023a). Further information on data processing with regard to data preparation and standardization can be found in the associated SOP Part 1: Data preparation and standardization (Thomisch et al. 2023b)

Winter river discharge may affect summer estuarine jellyfish blooms

Dams alter the natural dynamics of river inflow, disrupting biological processes in downstream ecosystems, as observed in the Guadiana estuary (SW Iberian Peninsula, Europe). Here, significant interannual fluctuations in the densities of jellyfish occur during summer, likely due to changes in winter river discharge. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the relationship between winter river inflow and the abundance of jellyfish in the Guadiana estuary. In addition, the budding and growth of Aurelia aurita polyps, one of the bloom-forming species present in the estuary, were determined at different combinations of constant temperature and salinity. The response of polyps and ephyrae to short-term, low-salinity pulses was also quantified. Maximum winter river discharge and maximum abundance of estuarine medusa (bloom indicator) showed a significant negative correlation. Under constant conditions, polyps showed increased mortality when water temperature was higher than 23°C and salinity was lower than 23, and died when exposed to a short-term, low-salinity pulse (≤3). After exposure to freshets, polyp budding and feeding rates decreased by 69% and 32%, respectively, when salinity reached values as low as 10. Ephyrae died when salinity was lower than 10, and feeding rates decreased by 88% when salinity was 17, compared with full marine conditions. In conclusion, winter freshwater discharge may regulate the strength of estuarine jellyfish blooms, impairing the survival or condition of polyps and ephyrae during late winter or early spring. River basin managers should consider the prescription of freshets to prevent jellyfish blooms from disrupting ecosystem services (e.g. fisheries, tourism)