Boat Noise and Black Drum Vocalizations in Mar Chiquita Coastal Lagoon (Argentina)

Noise accelerates embryonic development in a key crab species: Morphological and physiological carryover effects on early life stages

Anthropogenic noise is considered one important global pollutant. The impact of noise on marine invertebrates has been less assessed. The present study evaluated the chronic effect of the motorboat noise obtained from a lagoon's soundscape, the natural habitat of the key crab Neohelice granulata, on its whole embryonic development, considering morphological and physiological carryover effects on embryos and hatched larvae. Results demonstrated that embryonic development was shortened under noise exposure. The effects on advanced embryos, larvae and adult females were: increased heartbeats and non-viable eggs, and decreased fecundity. Biochemical responses showed lipid peroxidation in embryos while antioxidant enzymes were activated in larvae and adults, indicating a counteracting effect related to the life stage. The negative effects on fitness offspring may imply ecological consequences at the population level. Results are discussed in terms of the ecosystem engineer species studied and the habitat, a MAB UNESCO Reserve lagoon, suggesting the urgent need to develop mitigation plans.

Impact of small boat sound on the listening space of Pempheris adspersa, Forsterygion lapillum, Alpheus richardsoni and Ovalipes catharus

Anthropogenic stressors, such as plastics and fishing, are putting coastal habitats under immense pressure. However, sound pollution from small boats has received little attention given the importance of sound in the various life history strategies of many marine animals. By combining passive acoustic monitoring, propagation modelling, and hearing threshold data, the impact of small-boat sound on the listening spaces of four coastal species was determined. Listening space reductions (LSR) were greater for fishes compared to crustaceans, for which LSR varied by day and night, due to their greater hearing abilities. Listening space also varied by sound modality for the two fish species, highlighting the importance of considering both sound pressure and particle motion. The theoretical results demonstrate that boat sound hinders the ability of fishes to perceive acoustic cues, advocating for future field-based research on acoustic cues, and highlighting the need for effective mitigation and management of small-boat sound within coastal areas worldwide.

Boat noise impacts Lusitanian toadfish breeding males and reproductive outcome

Anthropogenic noise is a growing threat to marine organisms, including fish. Yet very few studies have addressed the impact of anthropogenic noise on fish reproduction, especially in situ. In this study, we investigated the impacts of boat noise exposure in the reproductive success of wild Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactylus), a species that relies on advertisement calls for mate attraction, using behavioural, physiological and reproductive endpoints. Two sets of artificial nests were deployed in the Tagus estuary and exposed to either ambient sound or boat noise during their breeding season. Toadfish males spontaneously used these nests to breed. We inspected nests for occupation and the presence of eggs in six spring low tides (in two years) and assessed male vocal activity and stress responses. Boat noise did not affect nest occupation by males but impacted reproductive success by decreasing the likelihood of receiving eggs, decreasing the number of live eggs and increasing the number of dead eggs, compared to control males. Treatment males also showed depressed vocal activity and slightly higher cortisol levels. The assessment of oxidative stress and energy metabolism-related biomarkers revealed no oxidative damage in noise exposed males despite having lower antioxidant responses and pointed towards a decrease in the activity levels of energy metabolism-related biomarkers. These results suggest that males exposed to boat noise depressed their metabolism and their activity (such as parental care and mate attraction) to cope with an acoustic stressor, consistent with a freezing defensive response/behaviour. Together, our study demonstrates that boat noise has severe impacts on reproductive fitness in Lusitanian toadfish. We argue that, at least fishes that cannot easily avoid noise sources due to their dependence on specific spawning sites, may incur in significant direct fitness costs due to chronic noise exposure.

Effect of biological and anthropogenic habitat sounds on oxidative stress biomarkers and behavior in a key crab species

Soundscapes are characterized by a combination of natural and anthropogenic sounds. This study evaluated the stress effect of biological and anthropogenic sounds characterizing a Man and Biosphere UNESCO wetland, by assessing the protein content, oxidative biomarkers, and behavior of a key crab species (Neohelice granulata), through a tank-laboratory experiment. Biological sounds corresponded to predators of N. granulata (fish and crustacean stimuli), while anthropogenic ones belonged to motorboat passages (boat stimulus). Biochemical results showed differences depending on the sound stimuli used and the crab tissue analyzed. Protein content was higher in hemolymph when crabs were exposed to fish and boat stimuli, and in gills when exposed to boat stimulus. The enzymatic activity in hemolymph showed a decreased GST (fish stimulus) and CAT (fish and boat stimuli) activity, in hepatopancreas a higher GST (crustacean stimulus) and CAT (crustacean and boat stimuli) activity was found, and in gills a higher CAT activity was also observed (crustacean and boat stimuli). Lipid peroxidation was higher only in hemolymph (fish and crustacean stimuli). Protein oxidation was higher in gills (fish stimulus) and hepatopancreas (crustacean stimulus). Behavioral analysis demonstrated that the crab locomotion activity diminished when exposed to diverse sound stimuli. Thus, both sound sources caused physiological and behavioral stress in this species. The results contribute important data to be used in the development of management plans considering the habitat importance in terms of biodiversity, the ecosystem services provided and the role of the studied species.

Boat noise affects meagre (Argyrosomus regius) hearing and vocal behaviour

Aquatic noise has increased in last decades imposing new constraints on aquatic animals' acoustic communication. Meagre (Argyrosomus regius) produce loud choruses during the breeding season, likely facilitating aggregations and mating, and are thus amenable to being impacted by anthropogenic noise. We assessed the impact of boat noise on this species acoustic communication by: evaluating possible masking effects of boat noise on hearing using Auditory Evoked Potentials (AEP) and inspecting changes in chorus sound levels from free ranging fish upon boat passages. Our results point to a significant masking effect of anthropogenic noise since we observed a reduction of ca. 20 dB on the ability to discriminate conspecific calls when exposed to boat noise. Furthermore, we verified a reduction in chorus energy during ferryboat passages, a behavioural effect that might ultimately impact spawning. This study is one of few addressing the effects of boat noise by combining different methodologies both in the lab and with free ranging animals.