We are organizing the
Second International Conference on the topic of sound and aquatic life. The
first conference, on the Effects of Noise
on Aquatic Life, was held in Nyborg, Denmark in August 2007. It brought together more than 250 scientists,
regulators and industry representatives from over 40 countries for discussions
on how to address the potential impacts of underwater noise. The proceedings of
the conference were subsequently published in a special issue of Bioacoustics.[1]
The Second International Conference on the
Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life will take place in Ireland in August 2010. As before, the main emphasis of the
conference will be on defining the current state of knowledge. However, we will also assess progress in the
three years since the First conference. The Second conference will place strong
emphasis on recent research results, the sharing of ideas, discussion of experimental
approaches, and analysis of regulatory issues.
The premise of these
meetings is that sound is important for many aquatic organisms, including
marine mammals, fish, and some invertebrates. Sound is used for communicating,
navigating, seeking out prey and avoiding predators. Hearing is an everyday sense, detecting the
many changes that are taking place around the animal. The goal of the conference
is to draw together new knowledge on the importance of underwater sound to
animals and to the effects of sounds upon them, whether those sounds occur
naturally, are made by the animals themselves, or result from human activities.
A wide range of sources
of underwater sound will be considered at the conference, including those
generated by explosions, ships, seismic exploration, offshore construction,
sonars of various types, acoustic deterrent devices and of course sounds made
by aquatic animals themselves.
We intend that a wide
range of interests will be brought together by the conference and we hope to
encourage discussion of the impact of underwater sound, its regulation, and
mitigation of its effects.
An Advisory Committee
will provide direction and assistance in developing the program for the
conference.
As with Nyborg, we
would intend to publish a volume of extended abstracts in an issue of a
scientific journal.
We plan to separate
the program into five major themes and will invite a series of keynote speakers
to present review papers for each of these themes. We will also issue an invitation for
submitted papers. As at Nyborg, we will
have a poster session, and will invite those submitting posters to give 2
minute oral summaries of their main findings in order to ensure that all
meeting participants are aware of the wide range of work represented by the
posters.
The main themes will
be:
- Sound
in the everyday lives of aquatic organisms
Sound
production, hearing, echolocation
2. Background
to acoustic activities
Acoustic conditions, ambient noise, sound
propagation, natural sources of sound
3. Human
sources of sound
Different
sources and their characteristics
4. Impact
of anthropogenic sounds
Physiological effects, behavioural
effects, tissue damage
5. Regulatory
issues
Creation
of standards, observance, control and compliance, mitigation
The format for the
meeting will include:
- Invited
oral presentations
- A
limited number of contributed oral presentations
- Posters
which will include each poster presenter giving a 2 or 3 minute oral
summaries of their main findings in order to ensure that all meeting
participants are aware of the contents of the poster presentations
- Working
group sessions for round-table discussions of various topics. These
sessions will generally start with one or two 20-minute papers on the
topic, and then extensive discussion, led two or three moderators. Topics
might include: Risk analysis; Long-term and cumulative effects of acoustic
exposure along with other stressors; Approaches to behavioural analysis of
responses to high energy acoustic sources; International regulatory
issues; etc.
We are contacting a
number of government and other agencies in the USA and Europe seeking assistance
with the costs of the meeting. We hope, however, that many speakers will be
able to find their own funding.
At
this stage we are inviting those who might wish to participate in the
conference to contact us and to suggest any further topics we might include in
the program.
If you wish to take
part in the conference, or wish to comment on its planning, please get in touch
with one of the six conference organizers
Conference Organisers:
Roger Gentry, USA roger.gentry@comcast.net
Anthony Hawkins, UK a.hawkins@btconnect.com
Marta Picciulin, Italy marta.picciulin@gmail.com
Arthur N. Popper,
USA apopper@umd.edu
Mark Tasker, UK Mark.Tasker@jncc.gov.uk
Douglas Wartzok, USA wartzok@fiu.edu
Advisory
Committee (suggested names)
Dr. Elizabeth
Burkhard – Minerals Management Service, USA
Dr. Lidia (Eva)
Wysocki – University of Vienna, Austria
Dr. Bruce Hanna –
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada
Dr. Tom Carlson –
Pacific Northwest Labs, USA
Dr. Douglas Cato –
Department of Defence, Australia
Dr. John Dalen –
Institute of Marine Research, Norway
Dr. Jennifer
Miksis-Olds – Pennsylvania State University, USA
Dr. Magnus Wahlberg –
University of Southern Denmark
Dr. Amy Scholick –
NOAA, USA
Dr. Alexander Supin –
Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russia
Key
Dates
April 10, 2009 General announcement to all Nyborg participants
May
15, 2009 Teleconference
organizers re program details – select main speakers
June 1, 2009 Submit funding requests NOAA, MMS, NSF, ONR, DFO
June 15, 2009 Popper and Hawkins visit potential venues and decide
June 30, 2009 Send out formal meeting announcement
June 30, 2009 Finish web page (based on Nyborg)