Photo: Todd Cravens | Unsplash
According to National Park Service scientist Christine Gabriele and Cornell University researcher Michelle Fournet, the level of manmade sound in Glacier Bay, Alaska, last year dropped sharply from 2018 levels, particularly at the lower frequencies generated by the massive cruise ship engines. This afforded researchers an unprecedented opportunity to study whale behavior in the kind of quiet environment that hasn't existed in the area for more than a century. Gabriele compares the whale activity in pre-pandemic times to human behavior in a crowded bar. They talk louder, they stay close together, and they keep the conversation simple. During the quiet of the pandemic, the whales have been spreading out, taking naps, and their songs have become more varied. While tourism to the area is restarting, scientists hope to use the data they collected to show the impact of human activity on whales and strike the right balance to keep whales healthy and humans able to safely view them.
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