Written by Muhammed Güney Aydemir
Noise pollution is a harmful phenomenon caused by human activities. It affects the biosphere (the biosphere is the ecosystem encompassing the areas where all living things on Earth live and interact) and results from the difficulty in regulating and overcoming the physical boundaries imposed by industrialization. Anthropogenic, human-made noise can damage marine life by disturbing the environment, such as salt consent. This article discusses the Impact of Anthropogenic Noise Pollution on Marine Ecosystems.
Anthropogenic noise is mostly harmful to living things in the submerged area. Especially, when a lot of animals connect by using signals, they ed to anthropogenic noise, and they can not understand the correct signal. Thereby, they suffer since they cannot make the proper choice. Anthropogenic noise pollution affects animals’ nutrition style, causing their death. Therefore, it significantly disturbs the balance of the food chain. For instance, cetaceans genus (whales, dolphins) influenced by anthropogenic noise pollution have been located as top-level predators (In the 3rd or 4th step) in the food chain. Hence, their absence affects not only the food chain but also tourism, the hunting of cetaceans, and the sustainability of the sea ecosystem.
How Impact Anthropogenic Noise Pollution On Nutrition
Anthropogenic noise pollution impacts the success of hunting especially the whales and the dolphins. In 2013, the Royal Society Journal published a study that showed that sonar voices break the blue whale’s nutrition behaviors and also cast out blue whales and stop their nutrition. It impacts not only the whales and dolphins but also fish and sea turtles that understand a study that occurred in 2014 showed that boat noise decreases the rate of sea bass’ hunting by 50 percent. A study that occurred in 2012 and according to this research, now the rate of turtles leaving their nutrition place is more than 70 percent than before. In 2015, Nature Communications Journal published some statistics about it and one of them says marine mammals go to the more quiet places if there is busy boat traffic (Ferrier-Pagès., 2021).
Economics Affects of Anthropogenic Noise Pollution
Certain nations promote economic equality through whale watching and dolphin tourism. However, these countries may face significant challenges if anthropogenic noise pollution adversely affects whale populations. The sustainability of such industries is vital for their continued economic stability. Despite this, some countries have banned something that hurts the lifespan of whales and other marine life (e.g. Brazil, Australia, India, South Korea, New Zealand, and Norway – but allows limited hunting – and Fiji has banned it). However, if they want to find a definitive solution to this problem, they need to stop poaching because it is a contributing factor to Anthropocene Noise Pollution. These countries cannot ban poaching, so some other countries do not use similar systems. However, some countries that do not use these systems are preparing to develop new systems. For example, New Zealand aims to stop poaching using space-based monitoring systems and drone technology.
Fig. 1: This graph shows the rate of impact of which animals are most affected by the Impact of Anthropogenic Noise Pollution. (ScienceDirect, 2015)
Studies
There are not many studies done on this subject since it hasn’t an exact solution but some universities and scientists researched why it happens. In 2023, researchers and sea biology experts studied done about the impact of sonar voices on blue whales. The main purpose of this research is understanding to the impact of high-frequency voices on blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus). This research revealed the most important reasons are not only population density and whale obsession but also unconscious humans and motor voices. In 2020 in partnership, Akdeniz University and Ege University did a study on how is impact of anthropogenic noise pollution on the importance of animals in the seas. In the laboratory, they changed the boat motor voices and drilling voices to 70-110 decibels. As a result of its research, the fish’s duration of nutrition extended by 50 percent ( King, E. A., 2022).
Conclusion
As a result, it can not be solved exactly but raises awareness by using awareness-raising advertisements in the most unconscious people. Moreover, it is not only a solution to, awareness lessons that can be given in schools, so it is trying in some countries, for example; the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Swedish, and Norway.
Further, some universities are studying to at least decrease the boat motor voice and they designed a device that can stick to the boat motor and can decrease the voice coming from the motor. However, this device can damage to motor, so scientists are studying it. If they solve the damaging problem, it device can be an important part of sustainable life. Also, Vibracoustic (Freudenberg Group) improves devices for this common purpose with other companies who are interested in solving it, for example; Navantia, Silent Ships, and Wärtsilä (Kunc, H. P., et. al., 2016)
In this context, the government can punish boats that go to specific areas, especially where there are too many whales sometimes (e.g. when hunting season ends) is the agenda in some countries right now. According to most people who are living in its countries, it looks very well and it has a correct specificity as a solution. Even, some people think it is the best solution and the first exact steps taken so far. If it passes by its countries' congresses, it means welfare, at least for a short time for whales, dolphins, and other fish various who effects by voice problems (Moretti, P. F., et. al., 2023)
References
1. Ferrier-Pagès, C., Leal, M. C., Calado, R., Schmid, D. W., & Bertucci, F. (2021). Noise pollution on coral reefs? — A yet underestimated threat to coral reef communities. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 165, 11212
2. King, E. A. (2022). Here, there, and everywhere: How the SDGs must include noise pollution in their development challenges. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 64(3), 17-32.
3. Kunc, H. P., McLaughlin, K. E., & Schmidt, R. (2016). Aquatic noise pollution: implications for individuals, populations, and ecosystems. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1836), 20160839.
4.Moretti, P. F., & Affatati, A. (2023). Understanding the Impact of Underwater Noise to Preserve Marine Ecosystems and Manage Anthropogenic Activities. Sustainability, 15(13), 10178.
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