The proposed research will combine a standardized literature search with quantitative meta-analysis via hierarchical Bayesian modeling to understand the impact of anthropogenic noise stressors on marine ecosystems of the northwest coast of the United States. This work will provide insights into the impacts of anthropogenic noise by demonstrating how the effects of noise impact marine life and will identify indirect mechanisms that will shape future efforts to understand and mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic noise. Ultimately, this information will be used to parameterize noise scenarios in an end-to-end ecosystem model, which the students are welcome to be involved in after the first objective is complete.

We will systematically search and compile published studies on the effects of anthropogenic noise on marine species' ecology and life history within the California Current large marine ecosystem and integrate estimates (from the peer-reviewed literature) of the effects of human-made noise on marine species. Students will extract estimates from literature and will aid in meta-analysis modeling. We will focus on the major species within a previously developed ecosystem model. Students can choose to focus on a particular group (e.g., zooplankton, salmon, rockfish, marine mammals, seabirds), or can work on the entire ecosystem more holistically.