Ice-generated sound and its potential masking effects on bearded seal vocalizations in the western Canadian Arctic

Quantifying acoustic masking due to noise sources is an important part of marine mammal conservation. This study examines the relative masking of bearded seal vocalizations by ice-generated sounds, using passive acoustic data collected from the western Canadian Arctic. Broadband ice sound events and bearded seal calls were extracted from acoustic recordings, and masking potential was estimated using the listening space reduction (LSR) metric, based on the bearded seal audiogram and propagation loss in an ice-covered environment. Results indicate that bearded seal vocal activity decreased with increasing LSR and ambient sound exposure levels, suggesting a potential behavioural adjustment to elevated ice sound levels that warrants further investigation.