• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

everthing

  • Home
  • About
  • Animals
  • Lastes-posts
  • Medicine
  • NBA All-Star Game
  • Pharmacy
  • Software
  • Contact

Endangered South African penguins driven off by ship noise

August 21, 2022 by admin

Penguins in South Africa are being driven from their native lands due to noise pollution from shipping activities.

The African penguin lives on the island of St. Croix off the east coast of South Africa. The animals are already endangered. But a new study has found that African penguins are leaving their natural habitats to escape noisy ship refueling.

The island once had the largest animal breeding colony in the world. But the population has fallen sharply since South Africa allowed ships in the area to refuel at sea six years ago, the study found.

Lorien Pichegru is acting director of the Coastal and Marine Research Institute at Nelson Mandela University, which led the research. She told Reuters news agency that the organization had discovered that noise levels in the area had doubled since the refueling activities began.

Scientists say high noise levels affect the ability of ocean animals to find and trap other animals for food. Noise also makes it more difficult for the animals to communicate with each other and map out travel routes.

“This year we are at 1,200 to breed pair on St Croix of 8,500 pairs in 2016,” Pichegru said. “I counted the dead birds on the bay beach every month.”

The study was recently published in the publication Science of the total environment. The researchers said the study is the first to examine the effects of noise pollution from ocean traffic on a seabird.

In 2016, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) awarded the country’s first offshore tank operator license to Aegean Navy. Later it gave two licenses to SA Marine Fuels and Heron Marine.

The companies operating the refueling operations have not responded to Reuters’ request for comment.

Since August 2019 there is an order to stop new permits. It will only be lifted after an environmental study by port officials has been completed. The study is expected next year.

The Nelson Mandela University study used data from ship identification tools to estimate the underwater noise of passing ships.

Oil-covered penguins were found in Algoa Bay in 2019 after a ship-to-ship oil spill. Environmental groups have called for activities in the bay to be banned.

Pichegru said penguins in the area have already struggled to reproduce due to a range of problems, including industrial fishing activities. She added that the tank activities did not kill all the penguins. “It was exactly what made it all” ecology tilt and then the penguins couldn’t handle with that,” she said.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn has adapted the report for VOA Learning English.

______________________________________________________________________________

Words in this story

race – v. to reproduce

license – n. an official document that gives someone permission to do or have something

ecology – n. the relationship between living things and the environment

handle – v. deal with something

________________________________________________________________________________

What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new response system. Here’s how it works:

  1. 1. Write your comment in the box.
  2. 2. Below the box, you will see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google.
  3. 3. Click on an image and a box will appear. Enter your social media account login. Or you can create one on the Disqus system. It’s the blue circle with “D” on it. It is free.

Each time you return to comment on the Learn English site, you will be able to use your account and see your comments and replies to it. Our response policy is: here.

.

Related

Filed Under: Animals Tagged With: Listen & Learn, Read, Science and technology

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Man Sent To Jail For Role In Cheltenham Pharmacy Robbery – The Mercury
  • Judge Orders Nevada Pharmacy Board To Remove Cannabis From Schedule 1
  • Angela D’Alessandro case: Family says Plymouth Meeting pharmacist preyed on teenage girl
  • Eating disorders are notoriously difficult to treat
  • mPharma acquires majority stake in HealthPlus in Nigeria

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

Archives

  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022

Categories

  • Animals
  • Lastes-posts
  • Medicine
  • NBA All-Star Game
  • Pharmacy
  • Software

Footer

Design

With an emphasis on typography, white space, and mobile-optimized design, your website will look absolutely breathtaking.

Learn more about design.

Pages

  • About
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • CCPA / GPDR privacy policy
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms And Conditions

Content

Our team will teach you the art of writing audience-focused content that will help you achieve the success you truly deserve.

Learn more about content.

Strategy

We help creative entrepreneurs build their digital business by focusing on three key elements of a successful online platform.

Learn more about strategy.

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in