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Studying the Soundscape of Shallow and Heavy Used Marine Areas: Belgian Part of the North Sea

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The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life

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Abstract

The impact of anthropogenic sound on marine fauna is a growing concern, particularly in shallow, coastal, and heavily exploited marine areas such as the Belgian Part of the North Sea (BPNS). Understanding the ecosystem and its limits in these areas is necessary to protect these areas and ensure their sustainable use. To quantify this impact, characterizing and analyzing the soundscape is crucial. However, analyzing soundscapes in shallow and heavily exploited marine areas poses several challenges and particularities. Bio-fouling, flow-noise, unknown sound sources, and masking compromise propagation. This chapter provides an overview of the soundscape in the BPNS and the inherent challenges to measure and analyze it. Some of the challenges are exemplified using data collected in the framework of the LifeWatch Broadband Acoustic Network.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Observation Centre, Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Ostend, Belgium

    Clea Parcerisas, Quentin Hamard & Elisabeth Debusschere

  2. Waves, Department of Information Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Clea Parcerisas, Dick Botteldooren & Paul Devos

  3. France Énergies Marines, Plouzané, France

    Quentin Hamard

Authors
  1. Clea Parcerisas
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  2. Dick Botteldooren
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  3. Paul Devos
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  4. Quentin Hamard
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  5. Elisabeth Debusschere
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Correspondence to Clea Parcerisas .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, College Park, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Arthur N. Popper

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Joseph Sisneros

  3. Marine Research, Loughine, Aberdeen, UK

    Anthony D. Hawkins

  4. DHI A/S, Horsholm, Denmark

    Frank Thomsen

Section Editor information

  1. Office of Protected Resources, National marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Amy R. Scholik-Schlomer

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Parcerisas, C., Botteldooren, D., Devos, P., Hamard, Q., Debusschere, E. (2023). Studying the Soundscape of Shallow and Heavy Used Marine Areas: Belgian Part of the North Sea. In: Popper, A.N., Sisneros, J., Hawkins, A.D., Thomsen, F. (eds) The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10417-6_122-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10417-6_122-1

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