Within the framework of the last year of implementation of the ANID Exploration project “Underwater noise: experimental approaches for determining effects on marine life” (2022-2026), a multidisciplinary team of researchers conducted a field campaign in Caleta Huiro, Los Ríos Region, to experimentally evaluate the effects of acoustic pollution on local marine fauna. In this research he participates as co-investigator by the Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh) the academic of the Institute of AcousticsDr. Alfio Yori.
The campaign focused on a resident colony of southern dolphins (Lagenorhynchus australis) and considered a coordinated work among specialists in acoustics, oceanography and marine biology. In this context, Dr. Yori, Acoustic Engineer and Doctor of the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin), was in charge of the technical aspects related to the generation and characterization of sound stimuli, as well as the study of their propagation under water and the estimation of the sound pressure levels received by animals.
Coordinated work: Physical Acoustics and Behavioral Monitoring
To this end, from a boat operated hydrophones, acoustic emitters and measuring equipment, through which specific and controlled sound signals were projected, characterized to ensure the repeatability of the experiment. Simultaneously, the team of marine biologists carried out non-invasive aerial monitoring using drones, with the purpose of recording the behavioral responses of dolphins, their movements and paths in front of them. to acoustic stimuli.
The methodology allowed the integration of physical sound measurements with observations of animal behaviour, crossing information from both disciplines to experimentally analyze the effects of exposure to underwater noise.
The Caleta Huiro campaign is part of the project's latest field activities, which began in 2022. “ This work is part of the last field activities of the project (period 2022-2026), in which, during its execution, the impact of anthropic noise on other emblematic species such as the fin whale has also been analyzed. (Balaenoptera physalus) and the common sea wolf (Otaria flavescens),” said Dr. Yori.
Currently, the data collected by the team are in its final phase of analysis. The consolidated results of the investigation will soon be presented to the Submarine Noise Operational Committee of the Ministry of the Environment (MMA).
