Noise and whale stress linked

BOSTON (AP) - Researchers say an ocean experiment accidentally conducted amid the post-Sept. 11 silence has shown the first link between underwater noise and stress in whales.  

The analysis, led by a New England Aquarium researcher, showed a drop in the stress-related hormone in right whales following the attacks. The drop coincided with a period of significantly lower ocean noise, after ship traffic came to a near standstill for security reasons following the terror attacks.  

The analysis combined data from two experiments that happened to be going on the same time. One involved taking acoustic recordings of right whales in Canada's Bay of Fundy, the other collected samples of whale feces, which contain hormones that indicate stress. 

It wasn't until 2009 that a researcher realized the data existed to do the analysis.