[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7016\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ENoisier waters linked to behaviour change, hearing loss in whales\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENoise in our oceans is increasing due to human activities such as shipping, seismic surveys, the construction of offshore windfarms and whale watching.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA popular tourist activity, whale watching is known to disturb the mammals that people come to see. In Iceland, for example, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/261872438_Whale_watching_disrupts_feeding_activities_of_minke_whales_on_a_feeding_ground\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eminke whales\u003C\/a\u003E were found to decrease the amount of time they spent feeding when a vessel was nearby. But whether these behavioural changes are linked to underwater noise is unknown.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018What people have studied in the past is the actual presence of the boat,\u2019 said marine biologist Dr\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pure.au.dk\/portal\/en\/persons\/kate-roseann-sprogis(b49191e6-819d-4388-b745-1548e976d980).html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EKate Sprogis\u003C\/a\u003E from Aarhus University in Denmark.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr\u0026nbsp;Sprogis would like to pin down the effect of boat noise itself, which she is investigating as part of a project called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/215104\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ENOISE\u003C\/a\u003E. Her team is focussing on how humpback whales respond to the sound of small whale-watching vessels in shallow coastal waters, which typically doesn\u2019t travel as far as acoustic waves deeper down. \u2018We don\u0027t know much about how that sound affects the animals,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers performed experiments off the coast of Exmouth, Western Australia, where they changed the noise level of their boat as they travelled past humpback whales at a distance of 100 metres. They observed different behaviours, such as the direction the whales were heading, to determine whether this changed when boat noise was present.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMothers feeding their calves in breeding grounds were particularly of interest. If underwater noise disrupts resting mothers, they may be disturbed from feeding their calves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The calf has to migrate back with (their mother) to cooler areas and it might not be able to do that if it\u0027s not big enough or strong enough,\u2019 said Dr\u0026nbsp;Sprogis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESwim away\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPreliminary results suggest that noise level has an impact on whale behaviour. \u2018What I\u0027m finding is that from a quiet boat to a loud boat, at the same 100 metres, that loud boat is causing the animal to stop what it\u0027s doing and swim away,\u2019 said Dr\u0026nbsp;Sprogis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELater in the year, the team will return to the same spot to investigate the effect of boat sounds on the whales from three different distances. In some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, regulations stipulate that vessels must stay at least 100 metres away from animals. However, they aren\u2019t based on the effects of noise. \u2018The aim is to be able to tell whale-watching bodies about our results so that people can incorporate them into their guidelines worldwide,\u2019 said Dr\u0026nbsp;Sprogis.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe findings from the project will also hopefully lead to the design of quieter boats, or modifications to existing ones. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA better understanding of cetacean hearing should also help set limits for underwater noise.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough sound is the primary mode of communication for these species, we have limited insight into how they hear. The lack of knowledge is partly because studying cetacean ears is a challenge: they must be obtained soon after death before they start to decompose.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Hearing impairment is particularly detrimental for these species since they depend on hearing for all their daily activities such as finding food, communicating and navigating.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Maria Morell, Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier, France\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We only have a window of a few hours to collect and fix the ears in stranded individuals,\u2019 said Dr Maria Morell, a biologist from the Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier in France.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat we do know, however, is that repeated exposure to sound at certain frequencies and intensities can cause hearing loss in mammals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Hearing impairment is particularly detrimental for these species since they depend on hearing for all their daily activities such as finding food, communicating and navigating,\u2019 said Dr Morell.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/208398\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ECetacean Inner Ear project\u003C\/a\u003E, Dr Morell and her colleagues are aiming to better understand how whales, dolphins and porpoises are able to hear high-frequency sounds and how underwater noise might affect their hearing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInner ear\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey are examining tiny structures in their inner ear, which is responsible for detecting sounds, and comparing how they differ across stranded individuals, looking for lesions, for example, that could result from exposure to noise.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy collaborating with organisations from 31 countries that research or investigate strandings, they receive cetacean ears from various locations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It is very valuable to have an overview of individuals coming from several oceans which may have been exposed to different sound sources,\u2019 said Dr Morell.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team is also trying to assess hearing range across different species. Each frequency is detected by a specific part of the cochlear spiral in the inner ear, where sound vibrations are converted into electrical signals that are sent to the brain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers are creating frequency maps that predict the distribution of frequencies along this spiral since the layout varies across species. If lesions from noise exposure are found at a given location on the cochlea, the maps could allow the source of the sound to be identified from its frequency.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the researchers have developed a method for analysing the sensory cells of the cochlear spiral that will allow newly formed and chronic lesions to be distinguished for the first time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This discovery is crucial to be able to know if there is any relationship between hearing damage and the stranding of an individual,\u2019 said Dr Morell. \u2018It can help explain the cause of death.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResults from the project should better inform policymakers about how noise can affect cetacean hearing, allowing them to evaluate the impact of local marine activities and improve regulations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Morell thinks that noise from seismic surveys, military sonar and pile driving during the construction of offshore windfarms possibly has the biggest impact on animals since they are the loudest sources within the hearing range of cetaceans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFurthermore, analysing ear damage in cetaceans should also reveal causes other than noise pollution. Hearing can be affected by several other factors such as age, infections or physical trauma.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The study of the inner ear contributes to the health assessment of wild cetacean populations,\u2019 said Dr Morell.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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