Zenodo
Uboldi, Thomas;
Byrro - Gauthier, Nathalia;
Bridier, Guillaume;
Jézéquel, Youenn;
Drolet, David;
Pettré, Julien;
Tremblay, Rejean;
Olivier, Fréderic;
Chauvaud, Laurent
—
2025-01-07
Among acoustic pollutants, commercial shipping is creating one of the most pervasive underwater man-made noises, doubling in intensity worldwide every decade. Besides marine mammals and fishes, there is now evidence that anthropophony also negatively affect several classes of marine invertebrates. Since laboratory experiments only provide partial answers to the effects of noise on animal ecology, we investigated the influence of shipping noise on the gastropod whelk Buccinum undatum at different spatiotemporal scales. In a sub Arctic Bay, we exposed two distinct acoustic telemetry arrays to contrasting shipping noise intensities, with root-mean-square sound pressure levels (SPLrms) of 99.87 and 124.01 dB re 1 µPa over a 10-days period to evaluate the effect of noise on mobility, habitat usage and distribution of wild specimens. We then exposed individuals to shipping noise at different SPLrms (control/114.62 up to 174.73 dB re 1 µPa) in a large tank over 2 h period to assess finer behavioural changes through accelerometry. Over the long term, acoustic telemetry revealed that individuals exposed to shipping noise had significantly reduced speed of displacement and 21.1% lower daily covered distances. Whelks also exhibited 36.6% smaller habitat usage potential, although they did not display any area avoidance from the polluted site. In laboratory, individuals exposed to the loudest shipping noise were less active than other treatments, with significantly lower overall dynamic body acceleration and shorter moving time. These results demonstrate that over different intensity and time scales, shipping noise negatively affects the locomotor capacity of gastropods, constraining their potential for dispersal with major ecological consequences for local populations. Taking advantage of the remoteness of the study area, we also took the opportunity to shed light on the ecological impact of shipping noise on invertebrate populations poorly adapted to noise in pristine habitats.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode