The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries manages a system of marine protected areas encompassing more than 2,000,000 km². U.S. National Marine ...Sanctuaries (NMS) have been designated to provide protection for their conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, scientific, cultural, archaeological, educational, or aesthetic qualities. Due to the large variability of attributes among NMS, designing coordinated system-wide monitoring to support diverse resource protection goals can be challenging. Underwater sound monitoring is seeing increasing application to marine protected area management because it is able to support this wide variety of information needs. Passive acoustics are providing invaluable autonomous information regarding habitat associations, identifying species spatial and temporal use, and highlighting patterns in conditions that are otherwise difficult to survey. Using standardized equipment and analysis methods this study collected ambient underwater sound data and derived measurements to investigate temporal changes in sound pressure levels and power spectral density, identify presence of select species of importance and support within and among site comparison of ambient underwater sound among eight sites within four U.S. NMS. Broadband sound pressure levels of ambient sound (10–24,000 Hz) varied as much as 24 dB re 1 μPa (max difference 100–124 dB re 1 μPa) among the recording sites, sanctuaries, and seasons. Biotic signals, such as snapping shrimp snaps and vocalizations of fishes, exhibited distinct diel and seasonal patterns and showed variation among sites. Presence of anthropogenic signals, such as vessel passage, also varied substantially among sites, ranging from on average 1.6–21.8 h/d. The study identified measurements that effectively summarized baseline soundscape attributes and prioritized future opportunities for integrating non-acoustic and acoustic variables in order to inform area-specific management questions within four ecologically varying U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries.
Most passerines use fat to fuel migration and pause at stopover sites to rest or refuel. Moreover, during spring migration, en route to breeding grounds, passerines may deposit "excess" fat as either ...insurance against unpredictable environmental conditions or in anticipation of breeding. We analyzed the energetic condition of Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus), Swainson's Thrush (C. ustulatus), and Veery (C. fuscescens) during spring and autumn migration at the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory (Rochester, New York, USA). We used path analysis to determine if the "spring fatter" or insurance hypotheses could help explain some of the variation in energetic condition in Catharus thrushes by designing and analyzing biologically plausible models of the potential effects of season, capture date, hour captured, and age on energetic condition during stopover. While path models differed among species and seasons, capture (or arrival) date was the strongest predictor of energetic condition; contrary to the insurance hypothesis condition increased with date during both seasons for all species. Hour of capture predicted much less variation in condition but was consistently positive (when significant). In long-distance migrants (i.e., Swainson's Thrush and Veery), less experienced or young migrants exhibited better condition than adults regardless of arriving later, which was revealed by including a direct path between age and condition and an indirect path mediated via capture date to control for potential differences in arrival timing related to age. Despite being closely related, we found only a few patterns in common among Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrush, and Veery. We suspect differences in phenology, flight, morphology, and migratory strategy may play a significant role in the differences among these species.
Many passerines regularly use flight calls to communicate during migration. However, flight-calling is inconsistent throughout the day. with a markedly lower degree of calling by free-flying ...individuals during the early evening hours and with peaks in calling typically around dawn. Based on these observations, we hypothesized that individual flight call response would vary by time of day, and the likelihood to respond would be lower at dusk than during the daytime. We tested daytime and dusk flight call responsiveness of captive American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) and Magnolia Warblers (S. magnolia) during spring migration at the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory (near Rochester, New York, USA). We played a conspecific flight call sound stimulus for individual birds placed inside a soundproof recording studio and recorded their acoustic responses. In our experiment. American Redstarts and Magnolia Warblers were significantly less likely to give flight call responses at dusk than the individuals tested during the daytime. The almost absent responsiveness to flight calls at dusk suggests that these species either minimally communicate with one another during take-off or do not use llight calls as a source of communication at this time. These results have important implications for detection and quantitative bioacoustics migration monitoring. They also demonstrate the need for additional studies in temporal flight-calling behavior.
The global impacts of climate change are evident in every marine ecosystem. On coral reefs, mass coral bleaching and mortality have emerged as ubiquitous responses to ocean warming, yet one of the ...greatest challenges of this epiphenomenon is linking information across scientific disciplines and spatial and temporal scales. Here we review some of the seminal and recent coral‐bleaching discoveries from an ecological, physiological, and molecular perspective. We also evaluate which data and processes can improve predictive models and provide a conceptual framework that integrates measurements across biological scales. Taking an integrative approach across biological and spatial scales, using for example hierarchical models to estimate major coral‐reef processes, will not only rapidly advance coral‐reef science but will also provide necessary information to guide decision‐making and conservation efforts. To conserve reefs, we encourage implementing mesoscale sanctuaries (thousands of km2) that transcend national boundaries. Such networks of protected reefs will provide reef connectivity, through larval dispersal that transverse thermal environments, and genotypic repositories that may become essential units of selection for environmentally diverse locations. Together, multinational networks may be the best chance corals have to persist through climate change, while humanity struggles to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to net zero.
With the growing severity of marine heatwaves, mass coral bleaching and mortality has become widespread. Yet, our understanding of coral bleaching and its cascading consequences is incomplete. One of the greatest challenges of this epiphenomenon is integrating findings from different disciplines and across biological and spatial scales. Here, we synthesize seminal and recent coral‐bleaching discoveries, evaluate which data and processes can improve predictive models, and provide a conceptual framework that integrates studies across scales. An integrative approach across biological and spatial scales will not only advance coral‐reef science but will also provide necessary information to guide conservation efforts.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a new approach for assessing marine biodiversity that may overcome challenges of traditional monitoring and complement both existing surveys and biodiversity ...assessments. There are limited eDNA studies that evaluate vertebrate biodiversity in the marine environment or compare patterns of biodiversity with traditional methods. This study uses eDNA metabarcoding of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA genes present in seawater samples to characterize vertebrate biodiversity and distribution within National Marine Sanctuaries located in the California Current upwelling ecosystem. The epipelagic community in the study region has been monitored using traditional (mid-water trawl and marine mammal) survey methods since 1983. During 2016 and 2017, we concurrently sampled the epipelagic community using traditional survey methods and water for eDNA analysis to assess agreement among the methods. We collected replicate eDNA samples from 25 stations at depths of 10, 40, and 80 m, resulting in 131 small volume (1 L) environmental water samples to examine eDNA sequences. Across the eDNA and traditional survey methods, 80 taxa were identified. Taxa identified by eDNA partially overlapped with taxa through trawl and marine mammal surveys, but more taxa were identified by eDNA. Diversity and distribution patterns of marine vertebrates inferred from eDNA sequences reflected known spatial distribution patterns in species occurrence and community structure (e.g., cross-shelf and alongshore patterns). During both years we identified fishery taxa Sebastes (rockfish), Merluccius (hake), Citharichthys (sanddab), and Engraulis (anchovy) across the majority of the stations using eDNA metabarcoding. The marine vertebrate assemblage identified by eDNA in 2016 was statistically different from the 2017 assemblage and more marine mammals were identified in 2017 than in 2016. Differences in assemblages identified by eDNA were coincident with different oceanographic conditions (e.g., upwelling and stratification). In 2016 weak upwelling and warmer than average conditions were measured, and vertebrate assemblages were not different among ecological regions (Point Reyes, Pescadero, and Monterey Bay). While in 2017, average upwelling conditions returned, vertebrate assemblages differed at each region. This study illustrates that eDNA provides a new baseline for vertebrate assessments that can both augment traditional biomonitoring surveys and aid our understanding of changes in biodiversity.
We studied the nesting ecology of White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) at 3 sites within the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA. Ibises built nests in small mounds (mean height ...= 14.4 + or - 4.3 cm) above shallow water (mean depth = 12.0 + or - 6.6 cm) located within patchy vegetation (mean percent vegetative cover = 17.2 + or - 17.8% vegetative cover) with mean vegetation height of 31.7 + or - 9.8 cm. White-faced Ibis typically laid a clutch of 3 or 4 eggs (mean clutch size = 3.08 + or - 0.76) and initiated nests over a 50 d period between 24 April 2012 and 12 June 2012. Mean nest success was 38% (95% CI: 31-45%) and hatching success of eggs from successful nests was 76 + or - 26%. Although most of the breeding parameters estimated for White-faced Ibis nesting in Utah were comparable to other populations in Oregon and Idaho (USA), nest success may now be lower than has been historically documented. Received 27 February 2019. Accepted II February 2020.
Low-frequency sound from large vessels is a major, global source of ocean noise that can interfere with acoustic communication for a variety of marine animals. Changes in vessel activity provide ...opportunities to quantify relationships between vessel traffic levels and soundscape conditions in biologically important habitats. Using continuous deep-sea (890 m) recordings acquired ∼20 km (closest point of approach) from offshore shipping lanes, we observed reduction of low-frequency noise within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (California, United States) associated with changes in vessel traffic during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Acoustic modeling shows that the recording site receives low-frequency vessel noise primarily from the regional shipping lanes rather than via the Sound Fixing and Ranging (SOFAR) channel. Monthly geometric means and percentiles of spectrum levels in the one-third octave band centered at 63 Hz during 2020 were compared with those from the same months of 2018–2019. Spectrum levels were persistently and significantly lower during February through July 2020, although a partial rebound in ambient noise levels was indicated by July. Mean spectrum levels during 2020 were more than 1 dB re 1 μPa
2
Hz
–1
below those of a previous year during 4 months. The lowest spectrum levels, in June 2020, were as much as 1.9 (mean) and 2.4 (25% exceedance level) dB re 1 μPa
2
Hz
–1
below levels of previous years. Spectrum levels during 2020 were significantly correlated with large-vessel total gross tonnage derived from economic data, summed across all California ports (
r
= 0.81,
p
< 0.05; adjusted
r
2
= 0.58). They were more highly correlated with regional presence of large vessels, quantified from Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel tracking data weighted according to vessel speed and modeled acoustic transmission loss (
r
= 0.92,
p
< 0.01; adjusted
r
2
= 0.81). Within the 3-year study period, February–June 2020 exhibited persistently quiet low-frequency noise and anomalously low statewide port activity and regional large-vessel presence. The results illustrate the ephemeral nature of noise pollution by documenting how it responds rapidly to changes in offshore large-vessel traffic, and how this anthropogenic imprint reaches habitat remote from major ports and shipping lanes.
Artykuł stanowi kontynuację rekonesansu po małych, peryferyjnych, zapomnianych sanktuariach europejskich. Przedmiotem prezentacji jest sanktuarium Divino Amore we włoskim Castel di Leva położonym na ...obrzeżach Rzymu. Autorzy przedstawiają jego legendę etiologiczną, źródło ludowego ruchu pielgrzymkowego, złożone dzieje oraz współczesną egzystencję tego miejsca, łącząc w swojej narracji perspektywę historyka, etnografa, teologa i wnikliwego obserwatora aktów religijności. W kościelnych i pielgrzymich opowieściach o sanktuarium autorzy w krótkim antropologicznym komentarzu rozpoznają zarówno toposy dobrze znane z historii miejsc świętych, jak i elementy nietypowe.
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