1 / 16

Underwater Acoustic Camera Surveillance of Pile Driving in Mid-Atlantic Region

This study examines the abundance and behavior of fish and invertebrates before and after impact pile driving using underwater acoustic camera surveillance. Data collected includes video observations, sound recordings, and environmental conditions.

solt
Download Presentation

Underwater Acoustic Camera Surveillance of Pile Driving in Mid-Atlantic Region

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Underwater Acoustic Camera Surveillance of Pile Driving Associated with Navy Proposed Actions in the Mid-Atlantic Region W.S. Chappell, C. Hotchkin, and J. Bort

  2. Introduction and Background • Sound stressors have potential adverse effects & Federal actions with sound stressors require analysis for environmental compliance documentation. • Available fish/invertebrate research based on modeling, confined or remotely tracked organisms and/or simulated sound Hawkins (2014) • More direct observations needed on the realistic effect of sound stressors on fish and invertebrates in terms that are biologically relevant

  3. Research Question Are there significant differences in the abundance and/or behavior of fish and invertebrates before vs. after commencement of impact pile driving during 4-5 hour periods (2 hours before & 2 hours during/after)? Kunc et al. (2016)

  4. Primary Data Collection • Adaptive Resolution Imaging Sonar record video observations (right) • Coupled with sound recording (below) • Observation area (range and area): 10 m and 23.7 m2 • Sample location & duration: Within modeled effect range (>150 dB SEL) for 4-5 hours in the morning

  5. Ancillary Data Collection • Weather Conditions (e.g., BSS, wind direction, cloud cover) • Water Conditions (e.g., substrate, water type, water clarity) • ARIS parameters (e.g., location, depth, view heading/angle) • Recording Parameters (e.g., frequency, gain, pulse width, focus) • Treatment Stressor information (e.g., distance/bearing to pile driving, start-time, end-time) • Non-treatment stressor notes (e.g., vessel passage)

  6. Sample Event #1: Elevated Causeway at JEB Little Creek • Date: 4/19/16 (control & treatment) • Depth: 5 m • Duration: 4 hours (2 hours before & 2 hours during/after) • Treatment: Impact pile driving (distance: 515 m) • Marine life observed: schools of small perciforms, decapod crabs, and occasional large perciform, horseshoe crab(s) or ray

  7. ARIS Recording Segment Before Pile Driving

  8. Sample Event #2: Pier 12 at Naval Station Norfolk Pile Being Driven • Date: 9/19/16 (control & treatment), 9/26/2016 (control) • Depth: 16 m • Duration: 4 hours (2 hours before & 2 hours during/after) • Treatment: Impact pile driving (distance: 35 m) • Marine Life Observed: mostly large perciforms, fewer small perciforms and occasional eel or ray

  9. ARIS Recording Segment During Pile Driving

  10. Post-Processing (Spring-Summer 2018) • Double blind subsampling of randomized 5 second video segments during control and treatment periods (including __% of total duration) • Data recorded for each segment: • Starting Location on XY grid • Taxonomic identifier (e.g., perciform-ellipse, perciform-oval, anguilliform, ray/skate, decapod crab, horseshoe crab, jellyfish) • Group count (number moving together) • Size (average total length or width – whichever is greater) • Movement speed (meters/second) • Movement direction (compass degrees) • Discernible Behaviors (e.g., drifting, meandering, stationary, transiting, aggression, attraction, aversion, startle – cause unknown, foraging, slowing/stopping)

  11. Planned Statistical Analysis (Fall 2018) • Research Question: Are there significant differences in the abundance and/or behavior of fish and invertebrates before vs. after commencement of impact pile driving during 4-5 hour periods? • Categories: small perciform ellipses (50-250 mm), large perciform ellipses (250-500 mm), and crabs (other groups too infrequent based on preliminary post-processing) • Difference between continuous variables (e.g., abundance, movement speed/direction): (1) ANOMV, (2) ANOVA, and (3) pairwise t-test • Difference between binary behavior variables: N-1 two proportional tests

  12. Continuous Variable Qualities

  13. Continuous Variable Qualities

  14. Factors Confounding an Answer to the Research Question Individual organisms moving into and out of the sonar beam such that comparisons (treatment vs. control) could be between the same or different individuals; General taxonomic groups may include a mixture of species having different sensitivities to impulsive sound; Natural pattern in fish activity from daybreak to noon may correlate with initiation of pile driving; and Feature(s) attracting taxonomic entities to an area (e.g., refuge) could affect their response to impulsive sound.

  15. QUESTIONS? Contact Information: william.s.chappell@navy.mil

More Related