title: Ambient noise and temporal patterns of boat activity in the US Virgin Islands National Park.
abstract: Human activity is contributing increasing noise to marine ecosystems. Recent studies have examined the effects of boat noise on marine fishes, but there is limited understanding of the prevalence of this type of sound source. This investigation tracks vessel noise on three reefs in the US Virgin Islands National Park over four months in 2013. Ambient noise levels ranged from 106 to 129dBrms re 1μPa (100Hz-20kHz). Boat noise occurred in 6-12% of samples. In the presence of boat noise, ambient noise in a low-frequency band (100-1000Hz) increased by >7dB above baseline levels and sound levels were significantly higher. The frequency with the most acoustic energy shifted to a significantly lower frequency when boat noise was present during the day. These results indicate the abundance of boat noise and its overlap with reef organism sound production, raising concern for the communication abilities of these animals.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Rd., MS50, Woods Hole, MA 02543, United States; MIT/WHOI Joint Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, United States. Electronic address: mkaplan@whoi.edu.
authors.forename: Maxwell B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Rd., MS50, Woods Hole, MA 02543, United States.
authors.forename: T Aran
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Mooney
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000818:Animals; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D005399:Fishes; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000068316:Parks, Recreational; D012767:Ships; D013016:Sound; D014767:United States Virgin Islands
keywords: Anthropogenic activity; Communication; Hearing; Noise; Soundscape; Vessel