Besides marine mammals and fishes, there is great confidence today that anthropophony also negatively affects different classes of marine invertebrates. Since laboratory experiments can only provide partial answers to the effect of noise on animal behavior and habitat usage, we investigated the effect of shipping noise on the gastropod species Buccinum undatum from large to small scale.
Deploying an underwater loudspeaker from the coast in the isolated Miquelon Bay, we exposed two distinct acoustic telemetry arrays to contrasting shipping noise pressure levels (126 dB re 1 μPa2 Hz−1 and ambient; site A and B, respectively) over a 10-days period to evaluate the effect of noise on mobility, habitat usage and distribution of wild specimens. Following such results, we then exposed individuals to different noise pressure levels (control, 122.5, 154.1 and 174.8 dB) in a large basin over 2 h period to assess finer behavioral changes though accelerometry.
Over the long term, acoustic telemetry revealed that individuals exposed to shipping noise had lower daily total/net covered distances and speed, exhibiting a lower potential for recovery after release (Fig. 1). Whelks also exhibited a smaller habitat usage potential (HUP), although they did not displayed any area avoidance from the polluted site.
According to laboratory findings, individuals exposed to 174 dB were less active compared to other treatments, with lower Overall Dynamic Body Acceleration (ODBA) and shorter moving time.
These results demonstrate for the first time that over different intensity and time scales, shipping noise negatively affects the locomotor capacity of marine gastropods, constraining their already reduced potential for dispersal with major consequences for the fisheries of several species.