There has been an increasing interest and concern among scientists, regulators, and industry about the effects of noise on aquatic life. While emphasis has been on effects on marine mammals, recent concerns have arisen about effects of the same sounds on fish, and there is a small but growing concern about effects on invertebrates as well.
The issues revolving around effects of sounds on aquatic life are extensive and complex. They range from differences in the sources of sounds potentially affecting aquatic life (e.g., shipping, pile driving, seismic devices, sonar, wind farms), the diversity of species affected, the potential different effects on animals with different anatomy and physiology, and effects on animals living in different habitats. The complexity arises, in part, from current difficulties in extrapolating between sounds with different characteristics and between species with different body structures.
One of the major problems is that much of the work to date on the effects of sounds on aquatic organisms appears in reports and other documents that have not been peer-reviewed. The work itself has often been opportunistic and does not reach the scientific standards which can be achieved in the laboratory. Moreover, there is often a lack of contact between scientists working on different aspects of effects of sounds (e.g., individuals interested in different species and/or different sources). There is especially limited interaction between the scientists investigating these questions and the regulators and industrial users of sound who need the answers. Indeed, to our knowledge there has never been an opportunity to bring together all the key individuals to share information, particularly on measuring and understanding the effects of sound on aquatic organisms.
The Conference
Because of the increased interest in the effects of noise on aquatic animals, the organizers decided that a conference is now necessary to bring together all the interested parties and come to a common understanding of the science and science directions that are the basis for future understanding and regulation of the effects of human-generated sound on aquatic organisms. Our view has been reinforced by discussions with colleagues, regulators, and individuals from industry, and is reflected in the membership of the Advisory Committee which is broadly representative of the groups interested in the topics of conference.
The conference itself is designed to emphasize what is known and not known about the effects of noise on aquatic life. The conference will have as its primary focus science-based issues. At the same time, in order to better provide a better understanding of all issues from basic science to regulation, we will include a few key talks that survey regulatory issues. It will consist of several parts:
a. Invited reviews by international speakers on topics that will provide participants with a strong background in the science of effects of sound on aquatic organisms.
b. Invited contributions, presenting the findings of recent science.
c. Contributed papers and posters by individuals currently working in the field.
d. Breakout sessions to discuss specific issues.
e. Round-table discussions to help develop a shared understanding of major questions that may serve as the basis for future research.
f. A limited number of presentations and discussions on the options for policy and regulation.
It is our intent that, with the exception of breakout periods, there will be no concurrent sessions. This is to ensure that individuals gain sufficient background to understand all the issues. We intend to select speakers for the reviews and the invited contributions, but also ensure that the meeting is widely publicized to attract additional contributed papers and posters. We will particularly encourage attendance by students and by individuals from third world nations by providing support.
Outcomes of Conference
The main outcome of this conference will be the education of all participants on the breadth of the science that deals with the effects of noise on aquatic life, and the level of information that we currently have. Scientists will benefit from hearing about studies on other organisms and sound sources. Similarly, policy makers and industry will not only learn about the best available science, but gain information that will assist them in reducing the effects of noise. The conference will also provide the basis for future recommendations for new science needed for better decision making and greater protection of the environment and the organisms that live in it.
Second, participants will gain substantially from the networking and communication with others who share the same interests, despite their working with different sound sources, organisms or effects. Many scientists, and especially those primarily focused on basic science, will appreciate the issues and problems of regulators and industry, and direct their research to help resolve those problems.
Two major publications are planned as outcomes to the conference and to extend knowledge of the material beyond those attending the meeting in Nyborg. We are negotiating with a publisher to produce a volume based on the major invited talks. This book will be an edited monograph
The second publication will be a series of extended abstracts, to be published in the journal Bioacoustics. All presenters at the conference will be invited to contribute to these extended abstracts which, we hope, will be available in time to serve as the abstract book for the meeting.
It is important to note that neither publication will be done at any cost to the meeting (e.g., no publication or page charges).
Outline of Topics and Potential Speakers
We have divided the program into six major themes (below). Each of the talks listed below is designed to be a broad conceptual discussion of the topic. In addition, each theme will have a number of shorter invited talks that deal with specific issues. For example, in theme 5 (effects of sounds on aquatic organisms), invited talks might include TTS in marine mammals, masking of fish, effects on behavior, and the like. Similar invited short talks will be included for each theme. Finally, we anticipate that we will have a large number of individuals who wish to contribute papers. These will generally be presented as posters, although as we learn about the work that is offered for the conference the organizers and Advisory Committee may invite some individuals to present oral papers.
The first theme provides background information on how animals use sound and includes fundamental issues such as scene analysis and masking. The second theme deals with how aquatic organisms detect sounds while the third theme considers the ambient acoustic environment that aquatic organisms experience. This section includes discussions of sound propagation and metrics for descriptions of sounds. The fourth theme discusses various sounds generated by humans and includes descriptions of the sources and the acoustics of these sources. Theme five discusses what is known about effects of sound on aquatic animals while theme six considers regulatory issues in the U.S. and Europe. This final session is designed to provide all participants with a common understanding of the issues of applying science to protecting organisms and the environment, as well as considering the subject from the perspective of those using underwater sounds for various commercial, industrial and military purposes.
Meeting Venue
The meeting will beAugust 13 to 17, 2007 at a conference hotel in Nyborg, Denmark, about 1.5 hours via train from Copenhagen, with direct train service from the airport. Since it is close to Copenhagen, Nyborg is easy to reach from the U.S., other parts of Europe, and other parts of the world,
We selected this location since several of the organizers attended an earlier international meeting there (International Society for Neuroethology, 2005) and the venue was ideal. The hotel provides excellent meeting rooms in a comfortable and reasonably priced environment that is conducive not only to formal presentations, but for poster sessions and for small group meetings. Meals are provided on site so that participants can, if they wish, use meal times for continued discussion and networking. We considered other venues in Europe, but all were more expensive than Nyborg, and less well set up for a meeting.