| Titre | Exposure to seismic survey alters blue whale acoustic communication |
| Auteur | Pinet, N; Duchesne, M; Lavoie, D |
| Source | Biology Letters vol. 6, 3, 2010 p. 333, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0885 (Accès ouvert) |
| Année | 2010 |
| Séries alt. | Secteur des sciences de la Terre, Contribution externe 20090283 |
| Éditeur | The Royal Society |
| Document | publication en série |
| Lang. | anglais |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0885 |
| Media | papier; en ligne; numérique |
| Formats | pdf |
| Province | Québec |
| Sujets | levés géophysiques; milieux marins; levés sismiques marins; levés sismiques; mammifères; géologie marine; géologie de l'environnement; géophysique |
| Programme | La géoscience pour les développements extracôtiers de la côte est, Géoscience en mer |
| Diffusé | 2009 12 23 |
| Résumé | (disponible en anglais seulement)
In a recently published paper, Di Iorio and Clark (2009) investigate the relationship between the calling behaviour of blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) and a
seismic reflection survey conducted in the St. Lawrence Estuary (Canada). The seismic survey was carried out jointly by the Geological Survey of Canada and by the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique - Eau-Terre-Environnement. The purpose
of the survey was to document the thickness and facies architecture of the Quaternary sedimentary succession by using a low energy sparker source for generating sound waves.
In their study Di Iorio and Clark recorded sounds in the water column
using five Marine Acoustic Recording Units (MARU). During the course of the data acquisition, the noise in the water column varied with time and the authors stated that seismic pulses were either: 1) clearly recorded on all the MARUs (their seismic
day), 2) not recorded (their no-seismic day), or 3) detectable on only some MARU units (their yes/no days in the supplementary data). With this classification in hand, the methodology used in the paper is straightforward and is based on a comparison
of whale call rates during periods (either days, hours or 10 minutes intervals) with and without seismic operation.
We argue that the definition of a 'seismic period' is not accurate enough and thus that the relationship between seismic activity
and calling behaviour is not clearly demonstrated nor is it supported as they claim. This scientific rebuttal of their thesis is based on the following facts: 1) Seismic pulses have been detected on some MARU units during the survey 'Day 11' which
puts significant doubts on what sounds have been really recorded as during this day, the survey vessel was not in operation and docked at the Québec city harbour some 200 km upstream the MARU units deployment site; 2) Classification of 'Day 8' as a
no-seismic day is also highly surprising given the fact the seismic data was acquired closer to the recording area than 'Day 4' (a seismic day); 3) Contrary to the author's opinion, the noise associated with cargo-boats and whale-watching cruise
vessels are not regularly present and significant daily variations exist; 4) the comparison of the calling activity during adjacent 1 h seismic and 1 h no-seismic blocks (the Figure 2c of Di Iorio and Clark, 2009) leads to a somewhat misleading
black and white classification that do not correspond to the real progressive decrease of seismic sounds during a continuous survey.
As noted by the authors, there is limited knowledge on the acoustic responses of baleen whales to seismic sounds.
These responses may vary depending of several parameters including the seismic source used during the survey (sparker source being obsolete for modern hydrocarbon exploration), the physiographic setting of the area (seismic signal being more complex
if significant sound reflections occur against steep escarpments) and the ambient human-generated noise (busy traffic corridors versus more open seas). A detailed knowledge of the location of the vessel during the seismic survey is obviously a
prerequisite to investigate all these parameters in future studies. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 248198 |
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