e-Poster: Behavioral Effects of Sound on Marine Mammals: Application of Literature Review to Decision-Making
(Room Station 2)
22 Oct 19
12:00 PM
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12:15 PM
Tracks:
Siting, Wildlife & Environmental Monitoring
To minimize impacts of wind development on marine mammals, develop effective mitigation, and ensure legal compliance, it is important to understand potential responses to sound. One way to integrate information is literature review. Literature review can also examine inconsistencies in publications and assess inter- and intra-reviewer differences. We evaluated >200 publications, reports, and unpublished sources on behavioral effects of sound on marine mammals. We quantified inconsistencies and reviewer bias. Preliminary results show that the sound source reported in the title and the actual sound source in a study may be inconsistent. Many studies characterized only short-term changes in behavior, mainly due to difficulty in monitoring and statistically isolating variables that motivate behavior. Authors may speculate in conclusions about long-term outcomes that were not directly studied in the experiment. This can have ramifications for interpretation of the science by others. Further, there is wide disparity in methods, statistics, and types and quantities of data. Testing single variables without consideration of context (such as environmental conditions) or controls can lead to different conclusions than multi-variate types of analyses. Understanding these issues allows for critical consideration when applying literature to decision-making. Finally, this review confirmed that reviewer bias, even among experts, is a likely and quantifiable factor in literature review.