Factors Affecting the Responses of Marine Mammals to Acoustic Disturbance

The issues surrounding marine mammals and noise cannot be managed effectively without an understanding of the effects of that noise on individual mammals and their populations. In the spring of 2003 the National Research Council released Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals, a report that reviewed sources of ocean noise (natural and anthropogenic), the effects of noise on marine mammals, patterns and long-term trends in ocean noise, and included recommendations intended to improve understanding of the sources and impacts of anthropogenic marine noise. This paper provides a brief summary of observed effects of ocean noise on marine mammals and the factors that can change the response of the animal to the noise exposure. It introduces the reader to short- and long-term behavior changes that have been observed in marine mammals in response to ocean noise, and discusses future directions for marine mammal research.