The shores of Costa Rica’s Gold Coast are home to the occasional stranding of marine mammals, but these sporadic situations could result in massive beaching events unless human oceanic activity… Read more » Continue reading →
The shores of Costa Rica’s Gold Coast are home to the occasional stranding of marine mammals, but these sporadic situations could result in massive beaching events unless human oceanic activity is conducted in a way that minimizes underwater noise pollution. Such was the message delivered by oceanographer and cross-discipline scientist Melania Guerra Carrillo at a recent presentation on bioacoustics at the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
Bioacoustics is a discipline that aims to explain and assess the impact that certain human activities have on underwater habitats. This scientific field of research and application also studies the cacophony of natural sounds that marine life emits as their means of communication and emotion. Guerra has taken a particular interest in bioacoustics as part of her diverse training and research, which has taken her from UCR to the Scripps Institute and from Dos Pinos to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
At her UCR presentation, Guerra explained that bioacoustics encompasses several other disciplines such as biology, physics, chemistry, engineering, meteorology, and others. Since Costa Rica is home to the Thermal Convection Dome, an underwater region off Guanacaste that is the richest source of marine life in the world, Guerra underscored the need to increase bioacoustic research in the region:
With the increase in fishing vessels due to globalization and free trade, we must understand the impact that noise pollution will have on marine life; for example: Acoustic pollution interferes with the effective communication among species because it not only masks their natural sounds but also affects their hearing and balance, which could lead to massive stranding situations.
Guerra is part of the new generation of scientists in Costa Rica who conduct research across various fields to augment their findings and glean a better understanding of Homo sapiens as a causal agent. She believes that scientists should focus on improving quality of life, and in Guanacaste and other coastal areas of Costa Rica that means applying a sustainable approach to interacting with the marine environment:
It is very important to regulate marinas in places such as the Osa Peninsula. Before we build them we must know what environmental noise pollution is predominant so that we can measure it, compare it and register it on databases so that we can establish certain limits.
Source: University of Costa Rica