Ultrasonic Antifouling Devices Found Damaging to Whales - University of California San Diego

Research disconnected the seashore of Mexico’s Guadalupe Island successful the Pacific Ocean has revealed ultrasonic antifouling (UA) devices arsenic a caller signifier of sound contamination that threatens the habitats of whales and perchance different marine mammals.

Acoustic ecologist Jennifer Trickey of the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has been starring a semipermanent acoustic survey of Cuvier’s beaked whales successful the Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve with the assistance of a seafloor-mounted acoustic recorder.

The researchers chose to survey Cuvier’s beaked whales astatine Guadalupe Island, astir 150 miles westbound of Mexico’s Baja peninsula, due to the fact that they appeared to beryllium non-migratory, year-round residents of the area.

“When we archetypal went backmost to retrieve the archetypal twelvemonth of data, I came crossed that antifouling awesome close away. At first, I was wholly baffled. I thought the instrumentality had failed,” said Trickey, a subordinate of the Scripps Acoustic Ecology Lab. But aft further investigation she realized the awesome was real.

The bay on the northeast seashore of Guadalupe Island wherever Trickey deployed her instrumentality is simply a fashionable achromatic shark cage-diving destination. She and her squad rapidly suspected immoderate of the cage-diving boats arsenic the signal’s source.

“It took immoderate sleuthing to fig retired what that dependable really was due to the fact that nary of america had adjacent heard of an ultrasonic antifouling device. I had nary thought that adjacent existed,” Trickey said of the devices, which assistance support hulls escaped of algae, barnacles, and different marine organisms done unit and vibration.

“They’ve been astir for astir apt adjacent to a decennary present and astir radical who enactment with marine mammal bioacoustics had besides ne'er heard of these devices. Now they’re pervasive,” said Trickey.  The devices besides usage the aforesaid frequence set that marine mammals usage to communicate, find prey, and navigate their environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic created logistical hassles for the probe team. But it besides resulted successful a twelvemonth of information taken during a mean tourism play with the antifouling awesome contiguous and 1 twelvemonth without. The information showed a crisp diminution successful acoustic beingness of the whales that coincided perfectly with visits from cage-diving boats equipped with UA systems.

“COVID-19 closed the land to tourism. The shark boats weren’t there,” Trickey said, and the acoustic beingness of the whales returned. “That was the proof. It turns retired that the diminution successful the acoustic beingness of the whales wasn’t immoderate earthy seasonal pattern. It was owed to that antifouling signal.”

The UA devices person a antagonistic effect, Trickey said, but determination are places wherever they could beryllium utilized with minimal situation impact, “but marine sanctuaries and protected areas are biologically rich, productive habitats. Those are what we’re trying to protect.”

Cuvier’s beaked whales are comparatively chartless among scientists and the wide nationalist alike.

“Usually, erstwhile you deliberation of a whale, you deliberation of thing similar a humpback oregon bluish whale, thing that's precise evident and precise showy astatine the surface,” Trickey said. “But beaked whales bash not travel that theme. They walk astir of their lives down astatine depth. And they’re besides not precise conspicuous astatine the surface, truthful they’re casual to miss.”

Trickey and 7 co-authors precocious detailed their acoustic findings, collected from November 2018 to October 2020, successful the diary Communications Biology. The co-authors see Gustavo Cárdenas-Hinojosa, a marine mammal researcher astatine Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP).

“The findings of our insubstantial were published with cleanable timing: the update of the absorption program of the Biosphere Reserve of Guadalupe Island is ongoing,” Cárdenas-Hinojosa said. “Our findings were included arsenic justification to suggest regulations to prohibition the usage of ultrasonic antifouling systems by vessels to debar disturbance of the colonisation of Cuvier’s beaked whales disconnected Guadalupe Island.”

The UA systems person go wide globally connected assorted types of ships.

“Cruise ships, successful particular, look to beryllium utilizing this exertion heavy and it’s wholly unregulated,” Trickey said. “We’ve present shown that it tin beryllium a occupation to marine life, truthful however bash we spell astir managing them better?”

Manufacturers person touted these devices arsenic eco-friendly alternatives to antifouling paints, which incorporate toxic chemicals.

“We anticipation our findings volition assistance rise consciousness astir the sensitivity of Cuvier’s beaked whales, and perchance different marine fauna, regarding the antagonistic interaction of UA systems connected species—which trust connected acoustics to past their world—in different marine protected areas astir the world,” Cárdenas-Hinojosa said.

Trickey stressed that lone 1 of the cage-diving operators astatine Guadalupe Island uses the UA system. The Communications Biology paper lists the company’s name. Also named are respective cruise ships that person been detected utilizing UA systems.

“My connection would beryllium to bash your homework earlier you motion up for a cruise oregon a cage-diving travel oregon an ecotourism travel of immoderate kind,” Trickey said. “Be cautious who you take arsenic the relation erstwhile you bash these activities.”

Co-authors of the survey besides included Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho of Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP); Gregory Schorr and Brenda Rone of Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research; and Eva Hidalgo-Pla, Ally Rice, and Simone Baumann-Pickering of Scripps Oceanography. Funding was provided by the Marisla Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the PADI Foundation, and CONANP.