Size-dependent physiological responses of shore crabs to single and repeated playback of ship noise.

ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic noise has fundamentally changed the acoustics of terrestrial and aquatic environments, and there is growing empirical evidence that even a single noise exposure can affect behaviour in a variety of vertebrate organisms. Here, we use controlled experiments to investigate how the physiology of a marine invertebrate, the shore crab (Carcinus maenas), is affected by both single and repeated exposure to ship-noise playback. Crabs experiencing ship-noise playback consumed more oxygen, indicating a higher metabolic rate and potentially greater stress, than those exposed to ambient-noise playback. The response to single ship-noise playback was size-dependent, with heavier crabs showing a stronger response than lighter individuals. Repeated exposure to ambient-noise playback led to in

SUBMITTER: Wale MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3639773 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature