“Inaudible Noise Pollution of the Invertebrate World” by Maggie Raboin, Acoustics Today
Anthropogenic sound is widely recognized as an issue of environmental concern (Shannon et al., 2016). Produced by human activities like those associated with urbaniztion, economic development, transportation networks, and recreation, anthropogenic sound now penetrates some of the quietest places on Earth (Buxton et al., 2017). In fact, over 60% of US protected lands experience noise levels double those of background noise, despite their distance from major metropolitan areas (Buxton et al.,2017). For vertebrates, the consequences of noise in natural landscapes have been found to be multifaceted, impacting mating, movement, predator-prey dynamics, and physiology (Shannon et al., 2016). However, research has mostly focused on the impacts of pressure waves on vertebrates, with the impact of anthropogenic sound on invertebrates and the acoustic modalities they rely on (mainly particle motion and substrate-borne sound) remaining largely unstudied.
Indeed, when evaluated in 2016, only 4% of the work on the impact of anthropogenic sound on animals had been on invertebrates, despite their comprising 97% of species on Earth (Shannon et al., 2016). However, recent research investigating anthropogenic sound and invertebrates suggests that the impact of noise on invertebrate behavior, physiology, and communities is likely diverse and complicated. The goal of this article is to introduce readers to invertebrates, their bioacoustics, and the potential effects of anthropogenic sound on invertebrates.
Inaudible Noise Pollution of the Invertebrate World – Acoustics Today, Volume 17, Issue 2
