Man-made noise makes fish more susceptible to predators

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/uoe-mnm080414.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 6-Aug-2014

Contact: Eleanor Gaskarth
University of Exeter
Man-made noise makes fish more susceptible to predators

Despite their reputation as slippery customers, a new study has shown that eels are losing the fight to survive when faced with marine noise pollution such as that of passing ships.

Scientists from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol found that fish exposed to playback of ship noise lose crucial responses to predator threats.

The study, published today in the journal Global Change Biology, found European eels were 50% less likely to respond to an ambush from a predator, while those that did had 25% slower reaction times. Those that were pursued by a predator were caught more than twice as quickly when exposed to the noise.

Lead author Dr Steve Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology & Global Change at the University of Exeter, said: "Our findings demonstrate that acute acoustic events, such as the noise of a passing ship, may have serious impacts on animals with direct consequences for life-or-death behavioural responses. If these impacts affect whole populations then the endangered eel, which has seen a 90% crash in abundance over the past 20 years due to climate change, may have one more problem to deal with as they cross busy coastal areas."

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tags: sound pollution, noise pollution