HZMB Case Study: Impact of Marine Construction Works on Marine Mammals

Transcription

1 HZMB Case Study: Impact of Marine Construction Works on Marine Mammals SMRU Hong Kong (Ltd) is wholly owned by the University of St Andrews and is the entity from which the University operates in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

2 First Encounters in Hong Kong

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4 Marine Mammals and Construction Aspects of marine mammal biology that have to be considered with regards to impact: Feeding Breeding Nurturing Response to Environmental Triggers Individual Impact Population Impact

5 Marine Mammals and Construction Assess Impact define acceptable disturbance mitigation Population Consequences of Disturbance Passive Acoustic Monitoring ASSESS MITIGATE - MONITOR

6 Environmental Impact Assessment The purpose of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance is to avoid, minimise and control the adverse impact on the environment of designated projects through the application of the environmental impact assessment process and the environmental permit system. provide first hand, specific and updated information on the existing ecological characters of the proposed development site and its vicinity; verify information obtained from the review of existing information; and fill existing information gaps.

7 Population Consequences of Disturbance Standard EIA practices: Consideration of specific impact on a specific receptor IMPACT? e.g. wind farm construction on harbour IMPACT? IMPACT? IMPACT? seals Focused on individual level responses IMPACT? (single animal) IMPACT? Typically qualitative (magnitude x IMPACT? importance) IMPACT? IMPACT? IMPACT? IMPACT?

8 Why is PCoD different multiple expert opinions IMPACT? IMPACT? IMPACT? IMPACT? IMPACT? IMPACT? IMPACT? MODELLING FRAMEWORK IMPACT? IMPACT? IMPACT? IMPACT? RANGE OF IMPACTS! Indicates the likely range of population consequences for a disturbed and undisturbed populations.

9 PCoD Background

10 PCoD Framework in Practise Population level impact assessment for 5 UK species of marine mammal and marine renewable developments PCoD can be used to forecast the potential cumulative effects of any number of developments over 0-25 years Can be adapted for specific impacts and specific receptor, SBP surveys, decommissioning

11 Example Outputs Impact Assessment Models provides estimate of how likely it is that a % difference (for a given species) will occur as a result of an activity Population Decline Probability of that decl. 1% % % 0.01

12 BC Port Terminal Expansion Focused on endangered dolphin species: Killer whale (SRKW) Construction noise impacts (mainly dredging): Advised to mitigate likely effects through shut-downs. Requires monitoring injury zone and zone of potential behavioural effects using MMO and PAM. Undertook studies to validate effectiveness of PAM detection Operational noise impacts (berthing and wider-scale container vessel noise effects). Undertook suite of SRKW-focused data analyses and modeling studies integrating noise, habitat use, behavioural response and effects of echolocation click masking

13 Outline of BC Port Expansion Studies ACOUSTICS BEHAVIOR HABITAT USE Transmission loss PAM DTAG Theodolite Sightings data Ship SL: Type, Speed, etc. Masking thresholds Disturbance thresholds Relative Density Acoustic Model Noise Overlap PCOD Assessment of effects

14 Soundscapes Cumulative noise (monthly) and finescale noise (5 min, 200m grid, 24 hour) for baseline vessel transits (AIS data) and increases predicted based on number of new project-related transits Baseline noise

15 Killer Whale Density Surface Seasonal relative density surfaces based on synthesis of sightings data corrected for effort and population number Summer distribution (effort corrected)

16 Disturbance Thresholds Determine acoustic thresholds for killer whale behavioural responses to noise from passing ships: Analyses were based on data from Dtags, acoustic data and theodolite tracking of vessels and whales Dose-response Curves for Low and Moderate Severity Responses. Probability of Response Broadband Received Level (db re 1µPa) Low Moderate

17 Noise and Killer Whale Overlap Assessment Spatially explicit simulation models drawing on probability distributions of noise and SRKW density surfaces and dose response curves that include variability to account for uncertainty Results predict number and location of behavioural responses Overlap model useful to assess effectiveness of mitigation options

18 Noise and Killer Whale Overlap Assessment Monthly noise increase above baseline Daily location of behavioural responses

19 PCoD Models Estimate changes in Killer whale survival, fecundity and growth rate from the baseline as a result of different levels of acoustic disturbance (data from Noise-Killer whale assessment). Calculate the relative change in growth rate between the baseline and development scenarios. Estimate the relative change in Killer whale population size from the baseline as a result of different levels of acoustics disturbance.

20 PCoD Models PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGE ACUTE CHRONIC DISTURBANCE HEALTH VITAL RATES POPULATION DYNAMICS CHRONIC BEHAVIOUR CHANGE ACUTE

21 What is PAM? Passive Acoustic Monitoring: listening for the sounds made by the animals themselves Not weather dependent Non-invasive Relatively cheap Can be automated Large sample sizes Long deployment time Short tracks Limited detection range Only works for species that vocalise regularly

22 PAM: What Sounds Can We Monitor Baleen Whales Low frequency sounds that propagate well Sperm Whales Loud sounds, propagate well, relatively short pauses between vocalisation Beaked Whales Loud but very directional sounds, often several hours between vocalisations Humpbacks Loud song but low frequency and only from males during the breeding season Finless Porpoise Vocalise most of the time, high frequency (range limited)

23 PAM: What Sounds Can We Monitor

24 PAM: Systems There are several categories; Archival Loggers: Fixed Autonomous Recorders Arrays (FAR-PAM) (ARU-PAM) Towed Arrays: cabled to shipped and towed during shipboard surveys Fixed Location Arrays: as towed arrays but monitoring a single (smaller) location Acoustic Recording Tag: attached to individual animals (D-Tag)

25 PAM: Systems

26 PAM system

27 PAM system Tabs for other displays Side panels for detector summary information Pan / Zoom buttons Detections from click and whistle detectors Ships track Plot overlay options

28 PAMGuard: Supported Hardware Sound Input Sound Cards ASIO Sound Cards National Instruments DAQ Cards Wav and Aif files Navigation Data GPS Position AIS for other vessels position Hydrophone Depth readout Any analogue depth sensor (i.e. anything that outputs a voltage proportional to depth) Frameworks exist for rapid development to support other hardware types.

29 PAMGUARD Software Aims to overcome limitations of existing systems More channels, better detectors Efficient sharing of data between multiple detectors Highly user configurable Open source Java code Encourages input from many developers If you don t like it, fix it yourself!

30 PAM: Systems

31 Data interpretation: Detection data compiled and analysed on ship/shore Introduction Data transmission: Processed detection data transmitted to ship/shore Data processing: Cetacean detection algorithms Data acquisition: Sound sampled at high rates

32 Cook Inlet Belugas

33 Cook Inlet Belugas The Eagle River is a summer feeding ground of the critically endangered Cook Inlet Beluga Whale population The Eagle River winds through a US Army gunnery range. Currently the range is only used in winter, however the army wants to start using the range in summer The US army therefore needs to know when the Beluga are in the river in order to stop shelling

34 Cook Inlet Belugas Whistle detection On-board Beluga click detection and classification Noise monitor in Beluga click frequency band Continual wav recorder, 500KHz

35 Cook Inlet Belugas

36 Cook Inlet Belugas Consistent detection and classification of Beluga Whales baseline mitigation Mitigation mode demonstrated live out to 3.2km ASP reduces this to 3MB dependent on detectors deployed 1 channel at 500kHz = 80GB a day storage PAM DAQ Only detection data recovered Data Forwarder Data passed to Customer Data recovery to PAMBuoy server for offline analysis, status chart generation and archiving Data recovery to local server running PAMGuard in viewer mode, detections and noise levels viewed real time

37 Cook Inlet Belugas

38 Cook Inlet Belugas

39 Cook Inlet Belugas Select region and zoom Currently updateable to a resolution of minutes

40 Hong Kong Dolphin Population The great white porpoise of the estuary of the Canton River English and Chinese references from the 1600 s

41 Hong Kong Dolphin Population Local name: Chinese White or Pink Dolphin Global name: Scientific name: Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin Sousa chinensis Local Distribution: Hong Kong western waters and adjacent Pearl River Estuary Protection: IUCN Near Threatened CITES; CMS; CBD; IWC Wildlife Ordinance Country and Marine Parks Ordinance Environmental Impact Assessment

42 Hong Kong Dolphin Population

43 Pearl River Estuary

44 Hong Kong Dolphin Population

45 Hong Kong Dolphin Population

46 Hong Kong Dolphin Population

47 Hong Kong Dolphin Population

48 Hong Kong Dolphin Population

49 Hong Kong Dolphin Population 100% Graph of Dolphin Behaviour per Quarter, March February % 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% Feeding Boat Association Travelling Surface Active Multiple Other Unknown 20% 10% 0% Mar - May 2013 Jun - Aug 2013 Sept - Nov 2013 Dec Feb 2014

50 Dolphin Vocalisations What do we need to know about dolphin vocalisations to determine which PAM systems will be of use and for what applications: Vocalisation Frequency Detection Range

51 Dolphin Vocalisations Existing Studies Hong Kong Ruxton 2002 Goold and Jefferson 2004 Sims et al 2012 Wang et al 2013 AFCD reports Audiogram Li et al 2012 Worldwide Zbinden et al 1977 Schultz and Corkeron 1994 Parijs and Corkeron 2001a 2001b Seekings et al 2010 Weir 2010

52 Dolphin Vocalisations Frequency modulated whistles (6 types) 1 to >22k, duration: s Chirp vocalisations, associated with broadband activity frequency: 2-15kHz, duration: s Burst-pulsed whistles frequency: 1-15kHz, duration: s Squawks frequency: 1-11kHz, duration: Quack trains frequency: 1-3kHz, duration: 3.85s (low frequency broadband sounds) Buzzes frequency: <1 to>22khz, duration: s (short burst broadband sound)

53 Whistles Constant Frequency Dolphin Vocalisations

54 Whistles Upsweep Dolphin Vocalisations

55 Whistles Downsweep Dolphin Vocalisations

56 Whistles Convex Dolphin Vocalisations

57 Whistles Concave Dolphin Vocalisations

58 Whistles Multiple Dolphin Vocalisations

59 Chirps Dolphin Vocalisations

60 Burst Pulse Dolphin Vocalisations

61 Buzz Dolphin Vocalisations

62 Quacks Dolphin Vocalisations

63 Squawk Dolphin Vocalisations

64 Dolphin Vocalisations Compared to other areas, e.g., Australia, Africa and other parts China, CWD recorded in Hong Kong appear to have more complex whistles

65 Dolphin Vocalisations Socialising Feeding No. Vocalisations per min Travelling 0 Constant frequency Upsweep Downsweep Convex Concave Multiple Chirps Vocalisation Type Burst-Pulsed Whistles Squawks Buzzes Quacks Socialising Feeding Travelling Socialising vocal rate is 2.5 times higher than when feeding and 8.5 times higher when compared to travelling Constant frequency Dow nsw eep Concave Chirps Squaw ks Quacks Upsw eep Convex Multiple Burst-Pulsed Whistles Buzzes

66 Dolphin Vocalisations Mean no. of Vocalisations produced per minute per encounter Upsweep Constant Frequency Downsweep Convex Concave Multiple Vocalisation Type Squawks Burst- Pulsed Chirps Buzzes Quacks Adults and Sub-Adults Only Mixed Groups

67 Dolphin Vocalisations No. of Vocalisations per Minute Constant Frequency Upsweep Chirps Multiple Concave Convex Downsweep Vocalisation Type Burst-Pulsed Whistles Quacks Buzzes Squawks Large Groups Small Groups

68 CWD vocalise a lot! A Very Vocal Species Whistle and click vocalisations are easy to distinguish from background ocean noise During three most common behaviours, a variety of vocalisations occur (no silent behaviour) Group size/composition effect on vocalisations (some sounds only large/mixed groups) PAM (towed and fixed) recorders have been used extensively in HKG and other waters to detect CWD (and porpoise) Hardware and Software can localise bearings to whistles and clicks allowing an estimate of the position of the dolphin within 250m zone

69 Expert Panel Review The panel knew of no other small cetacean population that faced the multitude of threats that exist within the Pearl River Estuary A Decade of Management Plans, Conservation Initiatives and Protective Legislation for Chinese White Dolphin (Sousa chinensis) Wilson, B., Porter. L., Gordon, J., Hammond, J., Hodgins, N., Wei, L., Lin, J., Lusseau, D., Tsang, A., Van Waerebeek, K. and Wu Y.P A Decade of Management Plans, Conservation Initiatives and Protective Legislation for Chinese White Dolphin (Sousa chinensis): An Assessment of Progress and Recommendations for Future Management Strategies in the Pearl River Estuary, China. Workshop Report, 7-11 April, Hong Kong: WWF Hong Kong 65pp

70 Impacts: Shipping

71 Impacts : Fishing

72 Impacts : Fishing

73 Impacts: Pollution

74 Impacts: Habitat Loss

75 Expert Panel Mortality Morbidity Body condition Feeding Rates Residence Pollution Infection Intense Noise Low Noise Prey Availability Collision Disturbance Entanglement Habitat modification High risk with strong existing evidence High risk outcome new research is required High risk outcome some evidence is emerging High risk outcome existing data needs new analyses Lower risk Effect unknown Wilson, B., Porter. L., Gordon, J., Hammond, J., Hodgins, N., Wei, L., Lin, J., Lusseau, D., Tsang, A., Van Waerebeek, K. and Wu Y.P A Decade of Management Plans, Conservation Initiatives and Protective Legislation for Chinese White Dolphin (Sousa chinensis): An Assessment of Progress and Recommendations for Future Management Strategies in the Pearl River Estuary, China. Workshop Report, 7-11 April, Hong Kong: WWF Hong Kong 65pp

76 Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge

77 Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge

78 Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge

79 HZMB: Monitoring

80 HZMB: Monitoring

81 GPS/AIS signal ADC pipe I F A W HYD ROH ONE F U S E 125 khz LIN. AMP ON 75kHz 125 Log + 50kHz 75 Log TEST OFF 50 Log OFF SUPPLY POWER LIN.AMP.FREQ. HEADPHONE / REC. REC. LEVEL SELECTOR SELECTOR VOL. Logger coordinated interface - database manager - environmental database MF Click detector - sperm whale - pilot whale IN - IN COMPUTER OUT REC. OUT PHONES HF click detector I F A W HYD ROH ONE IN F U S E 125 khz LIN. AMP ON 75kHz 125 Log + 50kHz 75 Log TEST OFF 50 Log OFF SUPPLY POWER LIN.AMP.FREQ. HEADPHONE / REC. REC. LEVEL SELECTOR SELECTOR - IN COMPUTER OUT REC. OUT VOL. PHONES HF Click detector - porpoise clicks - dolphin clicks MF signal HF signal Whistle detector - narrow band tonal sounds - dolphin small whale whistles

82 HZMB: Monitoring Goals: Statistically robust comparison of Chinese white dolphin distribution before, during and after noisy industrial activities Datasets: Sightings data from line transect surveys, photo-id, PAM and near-shore vantage observations Method: Fitting spatially explicit density surface models using custom-written R-code.

83 HZMB: Monitoring

84 HZMB: Monitoring

85 HZMB: Monitoring

86 Future Marine Construction

87 SMRU Hong Kong (Ltd) is wholly owned by the University of St Andrews and is the entity from which the University operates in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

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