Humans have not only changed the temperature and surface of the planet Earth but also affected the sounds in nature. These changes in sounds are quite detectable even in the open ocean, a research published in Journal Science said.
The changes in the sound in the oceans affected marine life from the tiny shrimp to the biggest whale. Several of the marine animals and fish use sound to communicate with each other. They use sound to trace locations to breed or feed. The marine animals and fish also use sound to detect predators.
INCREASED SOUND MAKES IT HARDER
An increase in ocean sounds from ships, fishing boats underwater oil/gas exploration, offshore construction and other activities make it harder for fish and marine animals. They make it hard for them to communicate each other and find better locations of food or breeding grounds, the scientists said in the latest paper in the journal.
Co-author of the paper and ecologist Francis Juanes (University of Victoria) pointed out that sounds travel far underwater. Sound is probably a better way for the fish to sense their environment than light, the ecologist noted. The researchers concluded the findings by going through thousands of data and articles that documented changes in noise volume and frequency.
COMMUNICATION MADE DIFFICULT
Marine ecologist at the Red Sea Research Center, Saudi Arabia and co-author of the paper Carlos Duarte said that marine animals and fish are finding it difficult to communicate with each other as human made sounds masked their sounds. Duarte noted that some vertebrates and fish have now avoided the Red Sea area, which is the nosiest ocean region. The region is a key shipping corridor, which is abounding with the largest shipping activity.
Duarte also mentioned that the number of marine animals have declined by about half since 1970. He said that researchers only record fewer animals singing/calling than in the past.
CLIMATE CHANGE
The researchers also noted that climate change also influences physical processes that shape ocean sounds like waves, winds, and melting ice.
A few other researchers said that marine animals and fish show elevated and detectable levels of stress due to noise
