Stress from noise can be short-lived

Underwater noise can negatively impact anti-predator behaviour in endangered eels and increase stress in both eels and European seabass, a new study published in Royal Society Open Science confirms. However, there is also some more positive news. The researchers, from the University of Exeter, the University of Bristol and HR Wallingford found that directly following two-minute exposures to noise, both fish species quickly recovered in behaviour and physiology, suggesting rapid recovery. This indicates that once short bursts of loud man-made noises are terminated, some impacts may be short-lived. Dr Rick Bruintjes explains: "These findings suggest that stopping or lessening noisy human activities can quickly reduce the impacts of man-made underwater noise seen in some fish species." This is quite different from many other man-made polluters such as global warming or ocean acidification, where the legacy of impacts could last decades or centuries. The key to this study was not just confirming that eels and seabass are negatively affected by underwater noise, but whether these effects could last beyond the period of exposure. Dr Andy Radford describes how this was done: "We carried out controlled laboratory experiments to first confirm that eels and seabass are negatively affected by underwater noise.