News Finding: "Dolphins simplified their calls to counter the masking effects of vessel noise."
Paper Finding: If a vessel is located in a different direction from conspecifics, there may be a decrease in masking (spatial release from masking) , but the observed changes in the whistle signals indicate that the dolphins simplified their calls to counter the masking effects of vessel noise.
News Context: 'The Shortest Answer Possible'
  
  Communication Is very important for dolphins, and they rely on sounds to do so. This not just makes it difficult for them to communicate, but it masks their individual identification, and might also reduce the information in their whistles. "Dolphins simplified their calls to counter the masking effects of vessel noise."
Paper Context: The study area is adjacent to the shipping lanes into Delaware Bay (electronic supplementary material, figure S1 ) and had ambient noise levels comparable to other coastal areas with frequent vessel traffic . If a vessel is located in a different direction from conspecifics, there may be a decrease in masking (spatial release from masking) , but the observed changes in the whistle signals indicate that the dolphins simplified their calls to counter the masking effects of vessel noise. Ambient noise levels are likely to rise in the future as vessel traffic increases and an offshore wind energy facility is proposed.