The soundscape of the Anthropocene ocean

Carlos M. Duarte, Lucille Chapuis, Shaun P. Collin, Daniel P. Costa, Reny Palliparambil Devassy, V. M. Eguíluz, Christine Erbe, Timothy A. C. Gordon, Benjamin S. Halpern, Harry R. Harding, Michelle-Nicole Havlik, Mark Meekan, Nathan D. Merchant, Jennifer L. Miksis-Olds, Miles Parsons, Milica Predragovic, Andrew N. Radford, Craig A. Radford, Stephen D. Simpson, Hans SlabbekoornErica Staaterman, Ilse C. Van Opzeeland, Jana Winderen, Xiangliang Zhang, Francis Juanes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

426 Scopus citations

Abstract

Oceans have become substantially noisier since the Industrial Revolution. Shipping, resource exploration, and infrastructure development have increased the anthrophony (sounds generated by human activities), whereas the biophony (sounds of biological origin) has been reduced by hunting, fishing, and habitat degradation. Climate change is affecting geophony (abiotic, natural sounds). Existing evidence shows that anthrophony affects marine animals at multiple levels, including their behavior, physiology, and, in extreme cases, survival. This should prompt management actions to deploy existing solutions to reduce noise levels in the ocean, thereby allowing marine animals to reestablish their use of ocean sound as a central ecological trait in a healthy ocean.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)eaba4658
JournalScience
Volume371
Issue number6529
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 4 2021

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-02-11

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