False alarm: The effects of boat noise on the anti-predator behaviour in Pacific sand lance

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dc.contributor.authorWhite, Meredith
dc.date.accessioned2024-03-14T23:18:24Z
dc.date.available2024-03-14T23:18:24Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractUnderwater noise from commercial shipping and recreational boating has remarkably increased in recent decades and has been widely shown to negatively impact marine animals. Many marine mammals and fish are affected by boat noise because they rely on sound to communicate, find food, avoid predators, and sense their environment. Compared to marine mammals, fewer studies have investigated how boat noise influences fish behaviour, especially anti-predator behaviour. I investigated how boat noise impacts the anti-predator behaviour in Pacific sand lance (PSL), a coastal schooling fish that is important as prey for numerous seabirds, fish, and marine mammals. For twelve days, PSL were held in two laboratory tanks: in one I played boat noise recordings, and in the other did not, and their anti-predator behaviour (e.g., burrowing in the sand and startling) was recorded by watching the underwater video footage. I found that PSL startled at a greater rate on days when they were not exposed to boat noise compared to days exposed to boat noise. These findings suggest that boat noise masks the auditory cues that stimulate PSL startling behaviour, which may negatively impact their fitness and increase their availability as a prey source.
dc.description.reviewstatusReviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelUndergraduate
dc.description.sponsorshipJamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/16078
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of Victoria
dc.subjectAnti-predator behaviour
dc.subjectPacific sand lance
dc.subjectboat noise
dc.subjectpredator-prey interactions
dc.titleFalse alarm: The effects of boat noise on the anti-predator behaviour in Pacific sand lance
dc.typePoster

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