July 20, 2016 Florida Permi,ng Summer School Marine Protected Species Permi:ng: In-water construc8on and noise impact assessment
Florida Marine Mammals and Turtles Shelf 2 whale species (North Atlan8c right whale, humpback whale) 4 dolphin species (boelenose, Atlan8c spoeed, rough-toothed, Atlan8c spinner) 5 sea turtle species 1 manatee species Slope & Deep Water 6 large and 2 small whale species 4 beaked whale species 10 dolphin species, plus the 4 shelf species All turtle species Other Species to Consider 3 species of sturgeon (2 federally listed) 2 species of sawfish (1 federally listed) 1 species of crocodile (federally listed)
Florida Protected Marine Species Jurisdic8on USFWS NOAA / NMFS Federal Regulatory Jurisdiction State Regulatory Jurisdiction
Poten8al Impacts Two main categories for impacts: 1) Injury or mortality 2) Behavioral harassment Two key sources for impacts: 1) Presence of in-water equipment 2) Underwater noise Risk Spectrum Any in-water ac8vity will pose some level of risk, oxen mul8ple levels, to marine protected species Underwater blas8ng Dredging Vessel ac8vity Pile driving Geophysical surveying Boat races / in-water events
Vessel / Equipment Strikes Documented strikes in coastal waters for whales, dolphins, turtles, manatees, & sturgeon If project is within manatee habitat (Florida), any in-water work will require a permit and possibly a watch plan Standard condi8ons for in-water construc8on FWC & NMFS but may not be enough
Higher Risk Projects Watch plans will, at minimum, be designed to cover manatees, sea turtles, and cetaceans that have a surface component to their behavior May include independent observers, acous8c monitoring, reloca8ons, etc. Watch plan should consider: Number/type of vessels and equipment Type of opera8ons Manatee zones, MPPs, EFH, cri8cal habitat for T&E species Size of project footprint Season Low visibility opera8ons Consulta8on early in the project for watch plan specifica8ons
Watch Plan Risk Assessment Underwater BlasKng Certain Probable Possible Unlikely Rare Disturbance Injury Mortality
Acous8c Impacts Complex, technical topic Incomplete informa8on for many species reliance on representa8ve species Highly contextual and species-specific Regulatory criteria are evolving Can produce Injury = Level A take under the MMPA Behavioral Disturbance = Level B take under MMPA Loss of acous8c resources May be as impacful to acous8cally dependent species as other forms of cri8cal habitat loss.
Some Quick, But Important, Defini8ons 210dB re1µ Pa @ 1m db = decibel re = referenced to 1µ Pa = unit of pressure underwater @ 1m = how close to the source 1) Units MaPer! db will always be referenced to a pressure and a distance from the source (usually 1 m; pile driving is oxen 10 m) 2) Impact Thresholds: TTS Temporary Threshold ShiX = temporary hearing loss PTS Permanent Threshold ShiX = permanent hearing loss Behavioral disturbance 3) Impulsive source A sound source that has high peak pressure rise 8me and rapid decay (impact pile driving, airguns) 4) Non-impulsive (conknuous) source A sound source that does not have the rapid rise/decay 8mes (vibratory pile driving, vessel noise, sonar) 5) Peak Sound Pressure Level (SPL peak ) The maximum amplitude reflected in the measurement of the source 6) Root Mean Square (RMS) An averaged value of source level over 8me 7) CumulaKve Sound Exposure Level (csel) The dosage an animal receives over a given period of 8me (will always be in rms)
Tugs and Barges Acous8c Thresholds Dredging Pile Driving Mul8beam 180 160 Species Audiograms Amplitude (db re 1µ Pa) 140 120 100 80 60 Audibility Reaction Impact 40 20 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 Frequency (khz) Bottlenose Dolphin Baleen Whale Green Turtle Loggerhead Turtle Manatee Sturgeon
Acous8c Threshold Criteria FuncKonal Hearing Group Exis8ng Cetacean Criteria (NMFS, 2005) Low-frequency cetaceans (NMFS, 2016) Mid-frequency cetaceans (NMFS, 2016) High-frequency cetaceans (NMFS, 2016) Level B Level B Level A Behavioral Thresholds TTS Onset Thresholds Injury / PTS Onset Thresholds Impulsive Sources peak (db re 1 µpa) Non-Impulsive Sources (db re 1 µpa 2 s) Impulsive Sources peak (db re 1 µpa) cumula8ve (db re 1 µpa 2 s) Non-Impulsive Sources SEL cum (db re 1 µpa 2 s) Impulsive Sources peak (db re 1 µpa) cumula8ve (db re 1 µpa 2 s) Non-Impulsive Sources SEL cum (db re 1 µpa 2 s) 160 rms 120 rms Not defined Not defined 180 rms 180 rms Not defined Not defined Not defined Not defined Not defined Not defined 213 peak 177 csel 179 224 peak 172 csel 178 196 peak 139 csel 153 219 peak 183 csel 199 230 peak 185 csel 198 202 peak 155 csel 173 Fish 2 g 150 rms 150 rms Not defined Not defined 206 peak 187 csel 187 csel Fish <2 g 150 rms 150 rms Not defined Not defined 206 peak 183 csel 183 csel Sea turtles (Popper, 2014; McCauley, 2000) 166 to 179 rms High poten8al exposures 10s of meters Intermediate poten8al 100s of meters 207 peak / 210 csel Manatees (Finneran & Jenkins, 2012) No PTS & TTS data for manatees and dugongs exist; however, because the hearing ranges of phocids and sirenians are roughly equivalent, the phocid thresholds (the lowest of any of the pinnipeds), is oxen used for sirenians. 172 csel 212 peak 177 csel 218 peak 192 csel
What Does it Mean in a Real Project? Source: Impact Hammer Pile Driving 12-in. concrete pile SPL= 188dB re 1 µpa @ 10m Sound PropagaKon: Sea water Uniform bathymetry Prac8cal spreading loss csel criteria for impulsive source Species Behavioral Threshold TTS Threshold (csel) Injury or PTS Threshold (csel) BoElenose dolphin Adult Gulf Sturgeon Loggerhead Turtle 70 m (2005 criteria) 12m 1.6m 350m - 1.1 m 11.8m - Not reached by source level Manatee 11.8m 5.5m Not reached by source level
What Does it Mean in a Real Project? Source: Viratory Hammer Pile Driving 12-inch concrete pile SPL= 188dB re 1 µpa @ 10m Sound PropagaKon: Sea water Uniform bathymetry Prac8cal spreading loss csel criteria for con8nuous source Species Behavioral Threshold TTS Threshold (csel) Injury or PTS Threshold (csel) BoElenose dolphin 30 km (yes, Kilometers!) 4.7 m Not reached by source level Adult Gulf Sturgeon Loggerhead Turtle Manatee 350 m - 1.1m 11.8 m - 11.8 m 5.5 m Not reached by source level Not reached by source level
What Do Impact Radii Look Like? Vibratory Pile Driving Impact Pile Driving BUT! Not all frequencies propagate equally so you must equate the propagakon with the frequency sensikvikes of the animals affected.
Dredging source levels: Hopper dredge 178.7dB re 1 µpa @ 1m Con8nuous source Amplitude (db re 1µ Pa @ 1m) 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 Cetacean TTS Sea Turtle /Manatee Behavior Fish Behavior Cetacean Behavior Dredging Example Species Audiograms 40 20 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 Frequency (khz) Bottlenose Dolphin Baleen Whale Green Turtle Loggerhead Turtle Manatee Sturgeon
CLEAR AS A BELL, Right? Take-Home Messages Acous8c impacts are regulated and should be taken into considera8on on any in-water project Not doing some level of due diligence in iden8fying source levels and basic propaga8on can result in risks to protected species and open a project up to poten8al legal challenges Protected species monitoring plans should assess risk well in advance of the project and aeempt to mi8gate those risks to acceptable levels; these will be highly project-specific
Thank You Mary Jo Barkaszi Marine Mammal Programs Manager CSA Ocean Sciences Inc. ww.csaocean.com