When boats buzz by the Great Barrier Reef, some small fish pause their parenting, lowering their offspring’s chances of survival, a May 20 study in Nature Communications finds. The results add to a growing body of research documenting the myriad ways noise pollution can harm marine organisms.
The research focuses on the breeding behavior of spiny chromis (Acanthochromis polyacanthus)—an abundant fish species on reefs throughout the tropical Pacific that exhibits extensive parental care. Pairs of these palm-sized fish fan their eggs with water to ensure the embryos receive enough oxygen until they hatch. Once that happens, the parents continue to guard the fry for up to four months.
Curious how noise from boats might affect that behavior, University of Exeter marine ecologist Sophie Nedelec and colleagues tagged and monitored 59 nests across six sites near Lizard Island, Australia, from October 2017 to January 2018, during the fish’s breeding season. Since ...
