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A comprehensive study to assess the impact of impulsive sound on juvenile sea bass

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Abstract
Given the increasing amount of anthropogenically induced underwater sound into the marine environment, a better understanding of the impact of impulsive underwater sound on marine life is needed. This study tackles the impact of impulsive sound, related to pile-driving activities for offshore wind energy development, on the mortality, stress and behaviour of post-larval and juvenile European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax. A 'worst-case scenario' field experiment was carried out on board of a piling vessel, exposing 68 and 115 days old fish (<2 g wet weight) to the sound generated during 1.5 hours of pile-driving. The number of strikes ranged from 1740 to 3070, with a single strike sound exposure level between 181 and 188 dB re 1 μPa².s, resulting in cumulative sound exposure levels ranging from 215 to 222 dB re 1 μPa².s. Immediate and long-term survival of the exposed fish was high and comparable to the control groups. However, juvenile fish responded to the impulsive underwater sound by a 50% reduction in their oxygen consumption rates, an indicator of secondary stress response. Primary stress responses, measured through cortisol levels are still to be analysed. We didn't find any effect on the condition and fitness of the exposed fish on the long term. Lab experiments performed with a SIG Sparker and a larvaebrator, respectively producing mid-high and lower frequencies, were inadequate to distinguish the determining sound metric or to pursue the exact origin of the stress response. Further away from the sound source, behavioural and masking effects can be expected. A lab experiment was carried out to study the behaviour of juvenile sea bass before, during and after one hour of impulsive sound exposure. In the aquaria, single strike sound levels reached 162 dB re 1 μPa².s, leading to a cumulative sound exposure level of 196 dB re 1 μPa².s after 2400 strikes. We observed that normal behaviour was disturbed, with an increase in startle responses and stationary behaviour at the beginning of the sound exposure experiment. Also, fish dived to the bottom of the aquaria, which is a typical anxiety-related response. However, no spatial preference was observed and normal behaviour was re-established shortly after the sound exposure ceased. These results indicate that impulsive sound close to the sound source creates sound pressure levels that are below the lethal threshold for fish, but above the stress threshold, at least for sea bass <2 g. Furthermore, lower sound levels at a distance from the sound source (in this case pile-driving) can disturb fish behaviour. Under optimal lab conditions, we did not see effects beyond the sound exposure period, but it remains unknown whether the reduced fitness of juvenile fish after exposure is limited in the real world as well.

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MLA
Debusschere, Elisabeth, et al. “A Comprehensive Study to Assess the Impact of Impulsive Sound on Juvenile Sea Bass.” VLIZ Special Publication, edited by Jan Mees and Jan Seys, vol. 71, Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ), 2015, pp. 52–52.
APA
Debusschere, E., Blom, E., Bolle, L. J., Botteldooren, D., De Boeck, G., De Coensel, B., … Degraer, S. (2015). A comprehensive study to assess the impact of impulsive sound on juvenile sea bass. In J. Mees & J. Seys (Eds.), VLIZ Special Publication (Vol. 71, pp. 52–52). Oostende, Belgium: Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ).
Chicago author-date
Debusschere, Elisabeth, Ewout Blom, Loes J Bolle, Dick Botteldooren, Gudrun De Boeck, Bert De Coensel, Christ De Jong, et al. 2015. “A Comprehensive Study to Assess the Impact of Impulsive Sound on Juvenile Sea Bass.” In VLIZ Special Publication, edited by Jan Mees and Jan Seys, 71:52–52. Oostende, Belgium: Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ).
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Debusschere, Elisabeth, Ewout Blom, Loes J Bolle, Dick Botteldooren, Gudrun De Boeck, Bert De Coensel, Christ De Jong, Kris Hostens, Amit Kumar Sinha, Sofie Vandendriessche, Maaike Vercauteren, Magda Vincx, Peter W. Wessels, and Steven Degraer. 2015. “A Comprehensive Study to Assess the Impact of Impulsive Sound on Juvenile Sea Bass.” In VLIZ Special Publication, ed by. Jan Mees and Jan Seys, 71:52–52. Oostende, Belgium: Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ).
Vancouver
1.
Debusschere E, Blom E, Bolle LJ, Botteldooren D, De Boeck G, De Coensel B, et al. A comprehensive study to assess the impact of impulsive sound on juvenile sea bass. In: Mees J, Seys J, editors. VLIZ Special Publication. Oostende, Belgium: Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ); 2015. p. 52–52.
IEEE
[1]
E. Debusschere et al., “A comprehensive study to assess the impact of impulsive sound on juvenile sea bass,” in VLIZ Special Publication, Brugge, Belgium, 2015, vol. 71, pp. 52–52.
@inproceedings{8100674,
  abstract     = {{Given the increasing amount of anthropogenically induced underwater sound into the marine environment, a better understanding of the impact of impulsive underwater sound on marine life is needed. This study tackles the impact of impulsive sound, related to pile-driving activities for offshore wind energy development, on the mortality, stress and behaviour of post-larval and juvenile European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax. A 'worst-case scenario' field experiment was carried out on board of a piling vessel, exposing 68 and 115 days old fish (<2 g wet weight) to the sound generated during 1.5 hours of pile-driving. The number of strikes ranged from 1740 to 3070, with a single strike sound exposure level between 181 and 188 dB re 1 μPa².s, resulting in cumulative sound exposure levels ranging from 215 to 222 dB re 1 μPa².s. Immediate and long-term survival of the exposed fish was high and comparable to the control groups. However, juvenile fish responded to the impulsive underwater sound by a 50% reduction in their oxygen consumption rates, an indicator of secondary stress response. Primary stress responses, measured through cortisol levels are still to be analysed. We didn't find any effect on the condition and fitness of the exposed fish on the long term. Lab experiments performed with a SIG Sparker and a larvaebrator, respectively producing mid-high and lower frequencies, were inadequate to distinguish the determining sound metric or to pursue the exact origin of the stress response. Further away from the sound source, behavioural and masking effects can be expected. A lab experiment was carried out to study the behaviour of juvenile sea bass before, during and after one hour of impulsive sound exposure. In the aquaria, single strike sound levels reached 162 dB re 1 μPa².s, leading to a cumulative sound exposure level of 196 dB re 1 μPa².s after 2400 strikes. We observed that normal behaviour was disturbed, with an increase in startle responses and stationary behaviour at the beginning of the sound exposure experiment. Also, fish dived to the bottom of the aquaria, which is a typical anxiety-related response. However, no spatial preference was observed and normal behaviour was re-established shortly after the sound exposure ceased. These results indicate that impulsive sound close to the sound source creates sound pressure levels that are below the lethal threshold for fish, but above the stress threshold, at least for sea bass <2 g. Furthermore, lower sound levels at a distance from the sound source (in this case pile-driving) can disturb fish behaviour. Under optimal lab conditions, we did not see effects beyond the sound exposure period, but it remains unknown whether the reduced fitness of juvenile fish after exposure is limited in the real world as well.}},
  author       = {{Debusschere, Elisabeth and Blom, Ewout and Bolle, Loes J and Botteldooren, Dick and De Boeck, Gudrun and De Coensel, Bert and De Jong, Christ and Hostens, Kris and Sinha, Amit Kumar and Vandendriessche, Sofie and Vercauteren, Maaike and Vincx, Magda and Wessels, Peter W. and Degraer, Steven}},
  booktitle    = {{VLIZ Special Publication}},
  editor       = {{Mees, Jan and Seys, Jan}},
  issn         = {{1377-0950}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Brugge, Belgium}},
  pages        = {{52--52}},
  publisher    = {{Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ)}},
  title        = {{A comprehensive study to assess the impact of impulsive sound on juvenile sea bass}},
  volume       = {{71}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}