From Documented Impacts to Cross-Taxa Perspectives: Towards a Framework for Assessing Vulnerability to Underwater Noise

Calonge, A., H. Eicher, A.-S. Krång, E. Debusschere, K. de Jong, K. McQueen, M.A. Ainslie, M. den Held, B. Rumes, J. Schnitzler

The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life IV, Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham (2026)

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-94229-7_31-1

The escalating threat of aquatic noise to marine life underscores the urgency of setting scientifically grounded underwater noise limits. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 11 provides a policy lever to mitigate pressures arising from underwater noise. Achieving this goal requires that underwater radiated noise (URN) management shifts from a primarily pressure-based approach, focused on quantifying environmental sound pressure, towards a risk-based, ecosystem-oriented framework. This approach requires the selection of indicator species to relate noise vulnerability to impacts on populations. As part of the Interreg North Sea DEMASK project, the need for a multi-criteria framework for selecting indicator species from multiple taxa is introduced, with the overarching goal of assessing vulnerability to URN. The framework should combine a range of attributes related to the sound sensitivity and production of the animal, documented impacts of URN, and attributes describing the species’ general vulnerability related to life-history traits and socio-ecological status. Here, an overview of documented impacts of URN on mammals, fish, and invertebrates in the North Sea is presented, with the aim of motivating a multi-criteria, cross-taxa framework in selecting indicator species to support an adaptive and impact-focused vulnerability assessment.