Agent-based modelling reveals a disproportionate exposure of females and calves to a local increase in shipping and associated noise in an endangered beluga population
Chion, C., Bonnell, T., Lagrois, D., Michaud, R., Lesage, V., Dupuch, A., McQuinn, I.H., Turgeon, S.
Assessment of impact of shipping noise on St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga population in advance of expected threefold increase In shipping traffic within critical habitat. Use of multiple habitat sectors leads to differentiation in exposure levels. Study proposes agent-based model to explore biases introduced when estimating exposure. Simulations of the ABM revealed that alternative behavioural assumptions for individual belugas can significantly alter the estimation of instantaneous and cumulative exposure of SLEB to VUN.
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