Vessel noise levels drive behavioural responses of humpback whales with implications for whale-watching
Year
2020
Journal
eLife
Volume
9
Issue
9
Keywords
behavioural disturbance, disturbance, humpback whale, megaptera novaeangliae, mother-calf, regulation, tourism, Underwater noise, whale watching
Abstract
Disturbance from whale-watching can cause significant behavioural changes with fitness consequences for targeted whale populations. However, the sensory stimuli triggering these responses are unknown, preventing effective mitigation. Here, we test the hypothesis that vessel noise level is a driver of disturbance, using humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) as a model species. We conducted controlled exposure experiments (n= 42) on resting mother-calf pairs on a resting ground off Australia, by simulating whale-watch scenarios with a research vessel (range 100 m, speed 1.5 knts) playing back vessel noise at control/low (124/148 dB), medium (160 dB) or high (172 dB) LF-weighted source levels (re 1
