Dear MARMAM community, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to share with you our recent publication published in Marine Pollution Bulletin.
Kylie Owen, Julia Carlström, Pia Eriksson, Mathias Andersson, Robin Nordström, Emilia Lalander, Signe Sveegaard, Line A. Kyhn, Emily T. Griffiths, Mel Cosentino, Jakob Tougaard (2024) Rerouting of a major shipping lane through important harbour porpoise habitat caused no detectable change in annual occurrence or foraging patterns. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 202: 116294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116294. Abstract Shipping is one of the largest industries globally, with well-known negative impacts on the marine environment. Despite the known negative short-term (minutes to hours) impact of shipping on individual animal behavioural responses, very little is understood about the long-term (months to years) impact on marine species presence and area use. This study took advantage of a planned rerouting of a major shipping lane leading into the Baltic Sea, to investigate the impact on the presence and foraging behaviour of a marine species known to be sensitive to underwater noise, the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). Passive acoustic monitoring data were collected from 15 stations over two years. Against predictions, no clear change occurred in monthly presence or foraging behaviour of the porpoises, despite the observed changes in noise and vessel traffic. However, long-term heightened noise levels may still impact communication, echolocation, or stress levels of individuals, and needs further investigation. The publication is open access, but please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions. Kind Regards Dr Kylie Owen Intendent Populationanalys och -övervakning Naturhistoriska riksmuseet Box 50007 | 104 05 Stockholm +46 (0) 761 701 594 [Logotyp för Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet] [Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Forskar, Bevarar och Förklarar, NRM.SE]
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