Ship noise impairs feeding and heightens predation risk for crabs
A study published in the journal Animal Behaviour found that the noise of passing ships disrupts feeding for the common shore crab.
Perhaps worse, the team from the Universities of Exeter and Bristol also found that when threatened, crabs took longer to retreat to shelter and lost their natural ‘play dead’ behaviour.
In coastal seas around the world noise caused by humans is a dominant feature, with construction and transportation fundamentally modifying ocean soundscapes.
Working with the same common shore crabs that children delight in catching on crablines in UK harbours, the team found ecologically-critical effects of ship noise-playback on behaviour. (more…)