TY - JOUR
TI - Temporary Shift in Masked Hearing Thresholds in Odontocetes After Exposure to Single Underwater Impulses from a Seismic Watergun
AU - Finneran, J
AU - Schlundt, C
AU - Dear, R
AU - Carder, D
AU - Ridgway, S
T2 - Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
AB - A behavioral response paradigm was used to measure masked underwater hearing thresholds in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and a white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) before and after exposure to single underwater impulsive sounds produced from a seismic watergun. Pre- and post-exposure thresholds were compared to determine if a temporary shift in masked hearing thresholds (MTTS), defined as a 6-dB or larger increase in postexposure thresholds, occurred. Hearing thresholds were measured at 0.4, 4, and 30 kHz. MTTSs of 7 and 6 dB were observed in the white whale at 0.4 and 30 kHz, respectively, approximately 2 min following exposure to single impulses with peak pressures of 160 kPa, peak-to-peak pressures of 226 dB re 1 μPa, and total energy fluxes of 186 dB re 1 μPa2 x s. Thresholds returned to within 2 dB of the preexposure value approximately 4 min after exposure. No MTTS was observed in the dolphin at the highest exposure conditions: 207 kPa peak pressure, 228 dB re 1 μPa peak-to-peak pressure, and 188 dB re 1 μPa2 x s total energy flux.
DA - 2002/03//
PY - 2002
VL - 111
IS - 6
SP - 2929
EP - 2940
UR - http://scitation.aip.org/content/asa/journal/jasa/111/6/10.1121/1.1479150
DO - 10.1121/1.1479150
LA - English
KW - Noise
KW - Marine Mammals
KW - Cetaceans
ER -