GENERAL DESCRIPTION This book provides a comprehensive review of the effects of man-made noise on marine mammals...This book is very timely given the growing concern about underwater noise as a form of habitat degradation in the marine environment...In addition to its applied relevance for conservation biology, this book also includes an excellent primer on marine bioacoustics...The authors have done a masterful job of providing a review basic enough for biologists to understand sound in the ocean...I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in bioacoustics, marine biology, or the conservation of marine animals. It will be the standard reference for a large body of literature that is not integrated anywhere else. --Peter L. Tyack, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR Provides a very comprehensive and up to date study of available material relating to noise underwater and its perception by marine mammals. As such it will be a welcome addition to the bookshelf of all those who work with or study marine mammals, or, more generally, those who need to be concerned about the environmental impact of their work in the marine environment...Acoustic measurement methodology has been carefully addressed throughout...This work should be regarded as essential background reading whenever the environmental impact of underwater sound on the ecosystem is discussed...The work provides a good foundation from which an objective examination can be made of possible risks to different marine mammals as a result of acoustic interactions. A very readable text and specific topics are quite easy to locate...The authors are to be congratulated for the depth of their research and particularly for the clarity and objectivity of their presentation of what is a technically complex, sometimes emotive and frequently misinterpreted subject area...Thoroughly recommended reading and an excellent reference. --David Goodson, Loughborough University, in AQUATIC MAMMALS Many marine mammals communicate by emitting sounds or vibrations that pass through water. Such sounds can be received across great distances and can influence the behavior of these undersea creatures. In the past few decades, the oceans have become increasingly noisy, as underwater sounds from propellers, radar, sonar, and other human activities make it difficult for marine mammals to communicate. This book discusses how well marine mammals hear, how noisy the oceans have become, and what effects that these new sounds have on marine mammals. It also examines the baseline of ambient noise, the sounds produced by machines and mammals, the sensitivity of marine mammal hearing, and the reactions of marine mammals. An essential addition to any marine biologist's library, Marine Mammals and Noise will be especially appealing to marine mammalogists, researchers, policy makers and regulators, and marine biologists and oceanographers using sound in their research. CONTENTS: Preface. Introduction. Acoustic Concepts and Terminology. Measurement Procedures. Sound Propagation. Ambient Noise. Man-Made Noise. Marine Mammal Sounds. Marine Mammal Hearing. Documented Disturbance Reactions. Zones of Noise Influence. Significance of Responses and Noise Impacts. Conclusions and Data Needs. Literature Cited. Appendices: Common and Scientific Names of Marine Mammals. Acoustical Glossary. Subject Index.