Study: Human Noise Links To Cetacean Mammals' Behavior: Study

Human noise pollution has effects on sea mammals in the Mediterranean Sea, according to research.

University of Alcala (UAH), Universitat Politechnic de Valencia (UPV), and Vaencia's Oceanografic researchers are conducting research on the potential impact of anthropogenic or human-generated disturbances on various cetacean mammals in the Mediterranean, Environment Guru has learned.

The study is spearheaded by the University of Alcala and it covers three locales within the Levantine-Balearic region. They are the Columbretes Isles, Cape San Antonio, and Cabrera Island.

The researchers are set to utilize two SAMARUC devices for the acoustic monitoring. Designed by the UPV Institute of Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM) and the Oceanografic, the unit, which are placed at varied depths, can detect, record, and sort the sounds made by the resident cateaceans, fishing activity, and calls of several marine species in the locale.

In a statement, as cited by Science Daily, iTEAM researcher Ramon Miralles said that unlike other units that acted as mere sound recorders, SAMARUC incorporated sound processing algortihms and was able to obtain indexed audio files for various acoustic events detected.

Miralles added that the system could be programmed to detect and sort the sounds recorded, allowing it to recognize sounds coming from fin whales, dolphins, vessels, and port installations.

It is further revealed that sounds have mean measured at the Cabrera Island, so the team is set to install another SAMARUC device in Cape San Antonio in August and on the sea floor near Columbretes Isles in September.

With the study ongoing, UAH representative Juan Junoy said that they hoped to shed light on biodversity in the Mediterranean regions, which would let them detect cetacean movements and migratory patterns. The results would also allow them to extract details on the sources and levels of sound pollution in the area, which would further them to identify potential mitigation thresholds.

Know more about the impact of anthropogenic noise to marine life here.