The impact of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals: A review
1 Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Guyana, Turkeyen Campus, Greater Georgetown, Guyana.
2 Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Guyana, Berbice Campus, Tain, Corentyne, Guyana.
3 Centre for the Study of Biodiversity, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Guyana, Turkeyen Campus, Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, Guyana.
4 Queensborough Community College, New York, United States of America.
Review
International Journal of Life Science Research Archive, 2024, 07(02), 009–033.
Article DOI: 10.53771/ijlsra.2024.7.2.0070
Publication history:
Received on 30 August 2024; revised on 10 October 2024; accepted on 12 October 2024
Abstract:
This paper aims to review and evaluate published literature on the impact of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals. A systematic method was utilized to access research works of literature on “Impact of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Mammals”. A total of seventy-seven (77) research papers published between the years 1959 to 2022 were accumulated and used for this review. A subjective approach was used to select the topics: impact of anthropogenic sound and marine mammals. In this paper, six (6) detrimental impacts of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals were evaluated and presented. Anthropogenic sounds originate from a variety of sources such as explosions, commercial shipping, seismic exploration, sonar, research sound source, acoustic deterrent devices and pingers, polar icebreakers, industrial activities, offshore drilling, construction, small ships, boats, and personal watercraft. Among the main impacts identified were that anthropogenic sounds affect marine mammals by causing hearing loss, masking, change in behavior, habituation shift and mass stranding. A mini checklist of several species of marine mammals and different types of anthropogenic noise that affect them are presented. Marine mammals are capable of self-generating their own sounds and they are also affected by anthropogenic sounds that are not native to their natural environments. The published literature that was reviewed established that the global marine mammal population dynamics, abundance, distribution, navigation, ecology and behavior are all affected by anthropogenic sounds. This review highlights the fact that more extensive studies on the impact of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals should be done in neotropical countries since there are gaps of such information on research and published data in these biodiversity-rich regions.
Keywords:
Impact; Marine Mammals; Anthropogenic Sound; Sources
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