The impact of experimental impact pile driving on oxygen uptake in black seabream and plaice

This is the final version of the article. Available from Acoustical Society of America via the DOI in this record.Fourth International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, Dublin, Ireland, 10-16 July 2016Anthropogenic noise is a recognized global pollutant that could potentially impact many organisms, including fishes. One of the acoustic sources producing high impulsive noise and vibration is pile driving. However, the potential impacts of real pile driving on fish species has received little attention, mainly due to the logistical challenges involved. Here, we investigated the impact of pile driving on the oxygen uptake (a secondary stress response) of black seabream Spondyliosoma cantharus and European plaice Pleuronectes platessa using an experimental pile driver setup in a flooded ship-building dock. Each individual fish was tested in ambient and pile driving conditions using a counterbalanced paired design to control for potential order effects. During pile driving, black seabream increased oxygen uptake compared to the ambient control condition suggesting higher stress levels. Plaice did not show differences in oxygen consumption between the pile driving and ambient treatment. These results show the impact of pile driving on secondary stress responses in fish, highlight species-specific differences concerning acoustical impacts, and showcase the possibility of carrying out large-scale semi-field acoustic experiments.Thanks also to E.ON, NERC MREKE and Marine Scotland for financial support

Exposure of benthic invertebrates to sediment vibration: From laboratory experiments to outdoor simulated pile-driving

This is the final version of the article. Available from Acoustical Society of America via the DOI in this record.Fourth International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, Dublin, Ireland, 10-16 July 2016Activities directly interacting with the seabed, such as pile-driving, can produce vibrations that have the potential to impact benthic invertebrates within their vicinity. This stimuli may interfere with crucial behaviors such as foraging and predator avoidance, and the sensitivity to vibration is largely unknown. Here, the responsiveness of benthic invertebrates to sediment vibration is discussed in relation to laboratory and semi-field trials with two marine species: the mussel (Mytilus edulis) and hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus). Sensory threshold curves were produced for both species in controlled laboratory conditions, followed by small-scale pile-driving exposures in the field. The merits of behavioral indicators are discussed, in addition to using physiological measures, as a method of determining reception and measuring responses. The measurement and sensors required for sediment vibration quantification are also discussed. Response and threshold data were related to measurements taken in the vicinity of anthropogenic sources, allowing a link between responsiveness and actual operations. The impact of pile-driving on sediment-dwelling invertebrates has received relatively little research, yet the data here suggest that such activities are likely to impact key coastal species which play important roles within the marine environment.LR would like to thank the organizers and sponsors of the 2016 conference for supporting her attendance for which she is extremely grateful. This study was partially funded by a research award from the Malacological Society of London to LR. The authors would also like to acknowledge Defra and NERC who funded the laboratory and field work aspects respectively, and the staff at the OREC field site, Blyth

Modelling the impact of anthropogenic noise on fish

Anthropogenic noise is recognized as a global polluter and there is growing concern about its impact on aquatic organisms. Offshore pile driving (e.g. during wind farm construction) creates high intensity impulsive noise which differs from natural noise sources, although its frequency range overlaps with hearing ranges of many marine organisms. Several predictive models have been developed that predict the propagation of noise in aquatic environments, however models combining underwater noise propogation, hydrodynamics and likely animal behavioural responses have been lacking. HAMMER (Hydro-Acoustical Model for Mitigation of Ecological Response) is a tool that predicts underwater noise propagation while taking hydrodynamics into account and it subsequently predicts behavioural responses of animals using individual based modelling (IBM). As the quality of any predictive model is largely defined by its parameters, we decided to obtain crucial behavioural data for commercially important North Sea fish species exposed to a realistic noise source. To allow realistic behavioural responses, a field experiment using impact piling was conducted in a former dry-dock (size: 85 x 18 x 3 m). Behavioural and physiological data of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) and black sea bream (Spondyliosoma cantharus) were obtained and incorporated into the HAMMER model. Here, we will discuss the results of the field experiment and the value of the tool for predicting animal behaviour in realistic marine environments

Hygroscopic Behavior of NaCl-Bearing Natural Aerosol Particles Using Environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy

We used conventional and environmental transmission electron microscopes to determine morphology, composition, and water uptake of individual natural inorganic aerosol particles collected from industrial pollution plumes and from clean and polluted marine environments. Five particle types are described in detail. They range from relatively insoluble mineral grains to internally mixed particles containing NaCl with other soluble or relatively insoluble material. We studied the hygroscopic behavior of these particles from 0 to 100% relative humidity (RH). Relatively insoluble materials do not take up water over the experimental RH range. Single crystals of NaCl from both natural and laboratory sources have a well-defined deliquescence point of approximately 76% RH at 291 K. NaCl-bearing aggregate particles appear to deliquesce between 74 and 76% RH (same RH within error) when NaCl is internally mixed with relatively insoluble phases, but the particles deliquesce at lower RH when aggregated with other soluble phases such as NaNO3. For all NaCl-bearing particles studied, hygroscopic growth is pronounced above 76% RH, and water uptake by the particles is dominated by the soluble phase. Furthermore, the soluble phase initiating deliquescence controls the locus of further hygroscopic growth of the aggregate particle. Our results demonstrate that composition and mixing state affect water uptake of natural aerosol particles. Furthermore, internally mixed particles are confirmed to deliquesce at lower RH values than predicted from the individual components

A tool to predict the impact of anthropogenic noise on fish

Anthropogenic (man-made) noise is a global problem in aquatic and terrestrial environments. In the shallow seas around many countries, including the UK, large windfarms are being constructed using pile driving to create a solid base for the turbines. Offshore pile driving creates pulsating noises and vibrations of very high intensities, which has been shown to be deleterious to a variety of aquatic species. Using a hydrodynamic model that predicts the propagation of underwater noise while taking into account bathymetry, tidal movements and currents, we integrated a numerical behavioural tool that models fish behaviour in response to noise. Using agent based modelling, scientifically published data and parameters obtained from carefully controlled experiments, we modelled the impact of noise on European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) as they encountered pile driving during migration from the ocean to a spawning site close to the shore. Taking our empirical experiments into account - which showed a negative impact of noise on feeding behaviour and increased oxygen consumption - the model predicts that the fish took significantly longer to arrive at the spawning site. This effect could have important implications at a population level, as fish would use more energy to reach the site and might desynchronize spawning behaviour, which in turn would influence larval survival and life history processes that reduce fitness. This tool not only shows the value of using numerical models to predict animal behaviour in a complex environment, but also highlights the merit of using such models to predict anthropogenic impacts that would otherwise be difficult or too costly to obtain.NERCHR Wallingfor

Increased noise levels have different impacts on the anti-predator behaviour of two sympatric fish species.

types: Journal ArticleCopyright: © 2014 Voellmy et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Animals must avoid predation to survive and reproduce, and there is increasing evidence that man-made (anthropogenic) factors can influence predator-prey relationships. Anthropogenic noise has been shown to have a variety of effects on many species, but work investigating the impact on anti-predator behaviour is rare. In this laboratory study, we examined how additional noise (playback of field recordings of a ship passing through a harbour), compared with control conditions (playback of recordings from the same harbours without ship noise), affected responses to a visual predatory stimulus. We compared the anti-predator behaviour of two sympatric fish species, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and the European minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus), which share similar feeding and predator ecologies, but differ in their body armour. Effects of additional-noise playbacks differed between species: sticklebacks responded significantly more quickly to the visual predatory stimulus during additional-noise playbacks than during control conditions, while minnows exhibited no significant change in their response latency. Our results suggest that elevated noise levels have the potential to affect anti-predator behaviour of different species in different ways. Future field-based experiments are needed to confirm whether this effect and the interspecific difference exist in relation to real-world noise sources, and to determine survival and population consequences.University of BristolBasler Stiftung für Biologische ForschungDefr

Numerical modelling of fish in response to underwater noise

Water is an excellent medium for sound transmission, which leads to concern about anthropogenic noise impacts on sensitive species. Models now exist that can predict a soundscape, taking into account hydrodynamic features, such as stratification, and seabed properties. A key challenge is to predict ecological responses, particularly to inform environmental impact assessments, prior to new marine developments. Individual and Agent Based Models (I/ABMs) provide an opportunity to assist in this ecological response prediction

HAMMER: a tool to predict the impact of man-made noise on fishes

Fish and Noise: Why should we care? All fish sense sounds and use natural soundscapes (e.g. for finding food, choosing mates, orientation and predator avoidance). Fish can be impacted by noise (see next box). Fish underpin many marine food webs. Many fish species are commercially important and provide food security for millions of people. Several fish species are protected or are of conservation concern (e.g. salmon and eels). Underwater noise is included in national and international legislation (e.g. EC 2008; DEFRA 2009)