ORCHESTRA
Our mission is to characterize the implications of anthropogenic underwater noise on marine invertebrates and ecosystems
The increase of anthropogenic underwater noise (AUN) has altered marine acoustic environments significantly and is now a global challenge. AUN can harm a variety of taxa by impairing an individual's physiology directly, as well as interfere with fitness relevant behaviours such as communication, orientation, predator avoidance and foraging. Within a research project funded by the BMBF (JPI-Oceans project ORCHESTRA), we combine interdisciplinary expertise on plankton and benthos, and underwater acoustics from six scientific institutions of four European countries. We conduct joint studies in both the field and under laboratory conditions in order to compare behavioural and physiological impacts on invertebrate key species and communities. The resulting data are combined with information on local soundscapes and species abundances to identify areas with the largest risks of being affected by AUN. Our results can be implemented in strategies for the mitigation of AUN impacts on marine ecosystems and will contribute to the development of criteria and measures to reach Good Environmental Status in European waters.
ORCHESTRA is included in POF-IV in Subtopics 4.2 and 6.4.