Anthropogenic Noise in the Ocean Is Disrupting Marine Life

Experts warn that anthropogenic noise, sounds that emanate from human activity in the ocean, has become too unbearable for undersea life that it is disrupting marine life processes.

It's Too Noisy For Marine Life

Clownfish are conceived on coral reefs, but as larvae, they drift in the open ocean. Once they hatch and are strong enough to swim against the current, clownfish use echolocation, relying on the oceans grunting and churning to return to the reef where they were born and spend the rest of their lives.

But, what would happen if the ocean becomes too loud?

Humans, their ships, air guns, pile drivers, seismic surveys, dynamite fishing, speedboats, drilling platforms, and surfing have made the ocean unbearably noisy for marine life.

A recent review of the prevalence and intensity of anthropogenic ocean noise impacts published in the journal Science shows how impactful human activity is in the ocean.

The paper is a collaborative effort between 25 authors across the globe in various fields of marine acoustics and is the largest synthesis of evidence on the effects of oceanic noise pollution.

Kerri Seger, a senior scientist from Applied Ocean Sciences says, "they hit the nail on the head. By the end of the third page, I was going to send this to my students."

Anthropogenic noise drowns out natural landscapes that put marine life under immense stress. In the case of baby clownfish, the noise could mean doom as they wander the seas with no directions and unable to find their way back home.

Carlos Duarte, lead author, and marine ecologist from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology says, "The soundtrack of home is now hard to hear, and in many cases has disappeared."

ALSO READ: Echolocation: Nature's Built-in GPS

Drowning Out the Noise

In the ocean, visual cues disappear after ten yards, chemical cues after hundreds of yards, but sound can travel for over thousands of miles and can link animals across oceanic basins and darkness.

As a result marine species are impeccably adapted in detecting and communicating with sound. One example is dolphins, which call each other by unique names. Toadfish hum. Whales sing.

Scientists have long been aware of underwater anthropogenic noise and how far it can propagate. According to Christine Erbe, directed at the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, says that human-made noise has been disrupting marine life for roughly a century.

Previous research on the effects of noise on marine life focused on how large animals responded to temporary noises such as whales taking detours around oil rigs when migrating.

The new study shows how underwater noises affect countless groups of marine life like jellyfish and zooplankton. Dr. Erbe says, "The extent of the problem of noise pollution has only recently dawned on us.

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