Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Functional Ecology, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany; Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Shelf Sea System Ecology, 27498, Helgoland, Germany.
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Functional Ecology, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany; Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany; Helmholtz Centre HEREON, Institute of Carbon Cycles, 21502, Geesthacht, Germany.
Environ Pollut. 2022 Oct 1;310:119899. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119899. Epub 2022 Aug 7.
Sounds from human activities such as shipping and seismic surveys have been progressively invading natural soundscapes and pervading oceanic ambient sounds for decades. Benthic invertebrates are important ecosystem engineers that continually rework the sediment they live in. Here, we tested how low-frequency noise (LFN), a significant component of noise pollution, affects the sediment reworking activities of selected macrobenthic invertebrates. In a controlled laboratory setup, the effects of acute LFN exposure on the behavior of three abundant bioturbators on the North Atlantic coasts were explored for the first time by tracking their sediment reworking and bioirrigation activities in noisy and control environments via luminophore and sodium bromide (NaBr) tracers, respectively. The amphipod crustacean Corophium volutator was negatively affected by LFN, exhibiting lower bioturbation rates and shallower luminophore burial depths compared to controls. The effect of LFN on the polychaete Arenicola marina and the bivalve Limecola balthica remained inconclusive, although A. marina displayed greater variability in bioirrigation rates when exposed to LFN. Furthermore, a potential stress response was observed in L. balthica that could reduce bioturbation potential. Benthic macroinvertebrates may be in jeopardy along with the crucial ecosystem-maintaining services they provide. More research is urgently needed to understand, predict, and manage the impacts of anthropogenic noise pollution on marine fauna and their associated ecosystems.
几十年来，人类活动发出的声音，如航运和地震调查的声音，逐渐侵入了自然声音环境，弥漫在海洋环境声音中。底栖无脊椎动物是重要的生态系统工程师，它们不断地改造它们生活的沉积物。在这里，我们测试了低频噪声（LFN），一种噪声污染的重要组成部分，如何影响选定的大型底栖无脊椎动物的沉积物再处理活动。在一个受控的实验室设置中，首次通过跟踪它们在嘈杂和对照环境中的沉积物再处理和生物灌溉活动，利用发光剂和溴化钠（NaBr）示踪剂，分别探索了急性 LFN 暴露对北大西洋沿岸三种丰富的生物扰动者行为的影响。甲壳类动物 Corophium volutator 受到 LFN 的负面影响，与对照相比，生物扰动率较低，发光剂掩埋深度较浅。尽管 A. marina 在暴露于 LFN 时表现出更高的生物灌溉率变化，但 LFN 对多毛类环节动物 Arenicola marina 和双壳类动物 Limecola balthica 的影响仍不确定。此外，在 L. balthica 中观察到了潜在的应激反应，这可能会降低生物扰动的潜力。底栖大型无脊椎动物可能会与它们提供的关键生态系统维护服务一起处于危险之中。迫切需要更多的研究来了解、预测和管理人为噪声污染对海洋动物及其相关生态系统的影响。
