The soundscape of the Anthropocene ocean

2021/02/04 by Carlos M. Duarte, Lucille Chapuis, Shaun P. Collin +22 · 1 citation
Environmental Science · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Marine animal studies overview #Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior #Underwater Acoustics Research #Soundscape #Anthropocene #Abiotic component #Marine habitats #Fishing #Sound (geography) #Habitat #Climate change #Ocean acidification #Environmental science #Natural (archaeology) #Environmental resource management #Oceanography #Ecology #Geography #Biology #Geology

paper · doi:10.1126/science.aba4658

openalex publication_date 2021/02/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03

Abstract

Oceans have become substantially noisier since the Industrial Revolution. Shipping, resource exploration, and infrastructure development have increased the anthrophony (sounds generated by human activities), whereas the biophony (sounds of biological origin) has been reduced by hunting, fishing, and habitat degradation. Climate change is affecting geophony (abiotic, natural sounds). Existing evidence shows that anthrophony affects marine animals at multiple levels, including their behavior, physiology, and, in extreme cases, survival. This should prompt management actions to deploy existing solutions to reduce noise levels in the ocean, thereby allowing marine animals to reestablish their use of ocean sound as a central ecological trait in a healthy ocean.

Citations

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Cited by

• Noise pollution [wikipedia]

Related

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• The not-so-silent world: Measuring Arctic, Equatorial, and Antarctic soundscapes in the Atlantic Ocean
• Physiological effects of anthropogenic sound on aquatic animals: where are we and what is next?
• The impacts of anthropogenic ocean noise on cetaceans and implications for management
• A New Context‐Based Approach to Assess Marine Mammal Behavioral Responses to Anthropogenic Sounds