Whales Are Now Less 'Stressed' Because Of Reduced Shipping Traffic And Noise Due To Lockdown

Just like pollution levels have dropped on land owing to coronavirus lockdown and subsequent lack of industrial activities, level of underwater noise pollution has reduced too.

Less number of ships and boats in seas and oceans has reportedly offered a respite to whales and other marine life.

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Researchers studying the changes off of the coast of Canada have called the reduction in shipping something like a 'giant human experiment'. Now that they have the opportunity, biologists are keen to record the effect that noise reduction has, on life within the oceans.

Previous studies hint that that noise pollution underwater forces whales to change how they sing and also causes them to become stressed.

Oceanographer David Barclay of Canada's Dalhousie University, and his colleagues, have been analysing underwater sound recordings taken at two sites near the port of Vancouver and they found a significant drop in low-frequency shipping noise.

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Talking to The Guardian he said, ¡°Generally, we know underwater noise at this frequency has effects on marine mammals. There has been a consistent drop in noise since 1 January, which has amounted to a change of four or five decibels in the period up to 1 April,¡± he said talking about one of the sights

At the second site, located in deeper waters, at a depth of around 9,843 feet (3,000 metres), and around 37 miles (60 kilometres) from the nearest shipping lanes, weekly sound levels fell by around 1.5 decibels.

¡°This gives us an idea of the scale over which this reduction in noise can be observed. We have an opportunity to listen ¡ª and that opportunity to listen will not appear again in our lifetime,¡± The Guardian quoted the professor as saying.

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The last time a reduction in ocean noise pollution happened was in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Reduction in shipping allowed experts to determine that ship noise is connected to chronic stress in baleen whales.

If it was not for the COVID-19 crisis, this time of the year would be the beginning of the cruise ship season in south-eastern Alaska.

¡°What we know about whales in south-east Alaska is that when it gets noisy they call less, and when boats go by they call less. I expect what we might see is an opportunity for whales to have more conversation and to have more complex conversation,¡± The Guardian quoted Professor Fournet as saying.

The animal kingdom seems to be relaxing for a bit before all human activities resume.