Comparison between the marine soundscape of recreational boat mooring areas with that of a pristine area in the Mediterranean: Evidence that such acoustic hot-spots are detrimental to ecologically sensitive habitats

We investigated the potential to use passive acoustics to access the impact of recreational boat mooring areas on ecologically sensitive habitats in the Western Mediterranean. One important consequence of the tourist industry in the region is that it targets the most pristine and ecologically sensitive habitats. Underwater sounds were recorded in mooring areas in Ibiza, Formentera and Tabarca harbors during high use and low use seasons and compared to recordings in the Tabarca Marine Protected area. At each location, we recorded sounds during 20 min at three different sites, for three random sampling times during the day. The percent of time occupied by selected biological (drums and croaks) and anthropogenic sounds (boat and mooring chain noises), and call rates of selected fish sounds were measured and compared among sites and seasons. Biological sounds contributed significantly less to the soundscape in mooring areas during the tourist season, and to the reserve in both seasons. Our study demonstrates ...