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Puffin Soundscapes

February 20, 2019

Puffins in Iceland are one of the many interests of WHOI acoustic biologist Aran Mooney. During a recent trip to Husavik on the north shore of the island, members of his lab dropped microphones down the side of a cliff and into the burrows of nesting puffins to help researchers learn more about the soundscapes that the birds experience. The iconic diving seabirds have been on the decline since the 2000s due to declining food resources in the North Atlantic and the work will help better understand the natural and ambient noise the birds experience and their sensitivity to the overall soundscape of their environment. (Photo by Aran Mooney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)