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High-Speed Vessel Noises in West Hong Kong Waters and Their Contributions Relative to Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis)
Joint Authors
Sims, Paul Q.
Würsig, Bernd
Hung, Samuel K.
Source
Issue
Vol. 2012, Issue 2012 (31 Dec. 2012), pp.1-11, 11 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2012-11-05
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
11
Main Subjects
Earth Science , Water and Environment
Abstract EN
The waters of West Hong Kong are home to a population of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) that use a variety of sounds to communicate.
This area is also dominated by intense vessel traffic that is believed to be behaviorally and acoustically disruptive to dolphins.
While behavioral changes have been documented, acoustic disturbance has yet to be shown.
We compared the relative sound contributions of various high-speed vessels to nearby ambient noise and dolphin social sounds.
Ambient noise levels were also compared between areas of high and low traffic.
We found large differences in sound pressure levels between high traffic and no traffic areas, suggesting that vessels are the main contributors to these discrepancies.
Vessel sounds were well within the audible range of dolphins, with sounds from 315–45,000 Hz.
Additionally, vessel sounds at distances ≥100 m exceeded those of dolphin sounds at closer distances.
Our results reaffirm earlier studies that vessels have large sound contributions to dolphin habitats, and we suspect that they may be inducing masking effects of dolphin sounds at close distances.
Further research on dolphin behavior and acoustics in relation to vessels is needed to clarify impacts.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Sims, Paul Q.& Hung, Samuel K.& Würsig, Bernd. 2012. High-Speed Vessel Noises in West Hong Kong Waters and Their Contributions Relative to Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis). Journal of Marine Sciences،Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-11.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-996992
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Sims, Paul Q.…[et al.]. High-Speed Vessel Noises in West Hong Kong Waters and Their Contributions Relative to Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis). Journal of Marine Sciences No. 2012 (2012), pp.1-11.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-996992
American Medical Association (AMA)
Sims, Paul Q.& Hung, Samuel K.& Würsig, Bernd. High-Speed Vessel Noises in West Hong Kong Waters and Their Contributions Relative to Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis). Journal of Marine Sciences. 2012. Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-11.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-996992
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-996992