There is an increasing international focus to understand and quantify the potential ecological risks of low‐frequency underwater sounds produced from anthropogenic activities (e.g., commercial shipping, dredging, construction, and offshore energy production). For dredge operations, a risk‐based approach has been proposed for identifying, assessing, and managing risks; however, specific details of the framework and demonstration of the approach are lacking. Thus, the goal of this study was to provide a practical, concise, and reliable framework for assessing the effects of dredging sounds on aquatic life. The specific objectives were to 1) further specify a risk assessment approach for assessing underwater sounds from dredging operations, 2) demonstrate the utility of the approach in practice using a case study, and 3) document the strengths and challenges of the approach. The risk framework was adapted for underwater sounds to include a project formulation step, an analysis step to analyze and assess exposure and biological responses, a risk characterization process in which the preceding steps are integrated and uncertainty is addressed, and a risk management step. A key beneficial component of this framework is the use of a phased approach, whereby a screening step offers a process that utilizes existing or readily available information to evaluate risk. In general, a limitation of evaluating risks due to dredge operations is the degree of uncertainty surrounding effect thresholds for many marine species; however, this approach emphasizes the importance of documenting and communicating uncertainty to regulators, stakeholders, and practitioners in the decision‐making process. A case study example is included to illustrate how the framework can be applied in practice. The primary strength of this method is the intrinsic flexibility of the framework to adapt as the scientific understanding improves and new data become available in the rapidly evolving field of underwater acoustics. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:481–493. © 2020 SETAC

中文翻译：

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挖泥作业产生的水下声音的生态风险评估。

国际上越来越重视了解和量化人为活动（例如商业运输，疏dr，建筑和海上能源生产）产生的低频水下声音的潜在生态风险。对于疏edge作业，已经提出了一种基于风险的方法来识别，评估和管理风险。但是，缺少框架的具体细节和方法的论证。因此，本研究的目的是提供一个实用，简洁，可靠的框架，以评估挖泥声对水生生物的影响。具体目标是：1）进一步指定一种风险评估方法，以评估挖泥作业产生的水下声音； 2）通过案例研究证明该方法在实践中的实用性，3）记录该方法的优点和挑战。该风险框架适用于水下声音，包括项目制定步骤，分析和评估暴露和生物反应的分析步骤，整合了前述步骤并解决不确定性的风险表征过程以及风险管理步骤。该框架的一个关键有益组成部分是使用分阶段方法，其中筛选步骤提供了一种利用现有或容易获得的信息来评估风险的过程。通常，对由于挖泥作业而造成的风险进行评估的局限性是许多海洋物种的影响阈值周围的不确定程度；但是，这种方法强调了记录和向监管机构，利益相关方传达不确定性的重要性，以及决策过程中的从业人员。包含一个案例研究示例，以说明如何在实践中应用该框架。这种方法的主要优势是框架的固有灵活性，可以随着科学认识的提高和在迅速发展的水下声学领域中获得新数据而适应。Integr环境评估管理2020； 16：481–493。©2020 SETAC