Using Passive Acoustics to Quantify Fish Spawning, Marine Mammal Presence, Sources of Anthropogenic Noise, and Changes in Behavior of an Endangered Shorebird

• Main Author: Leone, Melissa T
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2024
• Subjects: Acoustics; Atmospheric sciences; Biological oceanography
• ISBN: 9798383411735

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) measures the natural and anthropogenic sounds of a given environment. Typically, passive acoustics are used to determine the presence or absence of soniferous, or sound-producing, species over time, but can also be used to quantify rates of some behaviors including: spawning, breeding, and foraging. PAM can also be used to monitor changes in soundscape due to human inputs. Anthropogenic, or human-caused, noise is a byproduct of human activities, with shipping and other vessel traffic, and seismic exploration dominating the marine soundscape (Studds & Wright, 2007) and sounds from aircraft and vehicles prevalent in terrestrial soundscapes (Barber et al., 2011). In this thesis, two coastal habitats (one marine, one terrestrial) of Long Island, New York, were monitored with passive acoustics. Data collected on artificial reefs and beaches allowed for the tracking of fish spawning, presence of individual bottlenose dolphins, call rate and patterns of piping plovers, and monitoring of vessel and aircraft types, and their contribution to each respective soundscape and how these processes vary over time.The first study utilized marine and terrestrial passive acoustic data to describe patterns in human activity and noise in coastal habitats of Long Island, New York. Acoustic data were collected at two artificial reefs in New York’s waters, as well as along ocean beaches in Southampton, NY. The data collected during 2020 and 2021 monitored changes in terrestrial and underwater soundscapes. Vessel and aircraft type were identified through a combination of manual inspection of spectrograms, and automatic categorization through peak frequency of sound signals. The root mean square sound pressure level and power spectral density were calculated for the soundscape and specific sounds contained within, in order to pinpoint major contributors to each respective soundscape, as well as to determine the increase in ambient noise levels when anthropogenic sources are present. For the second study, passive acoustic data collected between 2018 – 2022 on two artificial reefs in New York’s waters detected fish spawning and the presence of individual marine mammals. Spawning associated calls of Weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were detected on the Fire Island and Shinnecock artificial reefs. Additionally, bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) individual specific whistles were recorded on both artificial reefs, allowing the identification of individuals from a population, as well as determining at what rate they return to the reefs over time. Passive acoustic monitoring can collect information on multiple species at different trophic levels simultaneously as well as behavioral information which can assist managers in understanding how these animals utilize these habitats and improving conservation actions.Lastly, nesting piping plover (Charadrius melodus) call rates and call types were monitored in response to low flying aircraft. Continuous passive acoustic data were collected between 2020 and 2021 at five nesting sites on Long Island, New York. The distance of nesting sites to nearby airports, helicopter landing pads, or flight paths were determined, and manual inspection of spectrograms allowed for the classification of aircraft types recorded at each nesting site. Additional field observations were conducted in order to pair recorded call types with behaviors, such as alarm or contact associated calls. Collection of passive acoustic data allowed for the monitoring of changes in calling patterns of an endangered species.