For 5 days, researchers subjected populations of demersal fish, which live close to the bottom of water bodies, near Australia's Pilbara Coast to varying levels of exposure to a commercial seismic survey, which is used to locate oil and gas reserves below the seabed; exposure to a seismic survey had little to no significant effects on demersal fish abundance, behavior, composition, movement, or size structure, suggesting that seismic surveys may not harm tropical fishes, according to the authors.
Article #21-00869: "A large-scale experiment finds no evidence that a seismic survey impacts a demersal fish fauna," by Mark G. Meekan et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Mark G. Meekan, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Perth, AUSTRALIA; tel: +61-(0)-429101812; email: m.meekan@aims.gov.au
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences