Underwater Noise Pollution Causes Hearing Loss in Turtles

KOMPAS.com – Researchers say that underwater pollution causes turtle have hearing loss that can last up to several days.

Activities such as shipping and construction are cited as causing a lot of noise in freshwater and saltwater environments.

Early evidence of the effects of intense noise on turtles will be presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting, Friday (4/3/2022).

Studies on the effects of this noise have been carried out on various animals, ranging from squid, fish, to whales.

Also read: Half of the World’s Turtle Species are Endangered

However, according to Andria Salas, researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, little research has focused on reptiles such as turtles.

“Our initial findings are the first to support that these animals are susceptible to hearing loss underwater after exposure to intense noise,” Salas said.

Previously researchers could only assume that turtles experienced hearing loss when exposed to sounds quite intense as observed in other animals, but nothing has been gathered specifically about these creatures.

And the researchers said they were surprised that the relatively low noise level actually had an impact on turtle hearing. Though hearing is important for communication and avoid predators. This finding could also have implications for the survival of several threatened turtle species.

“If this happened in nature, turtles would be less able to detect sounds in their environment, including the sounds they use to communicate or warn them not to approach predators,” Salas said.

Also read: Fake Eggs Help Trace Turtle Trade Chain, How Can You?

He also revealed that more than half of turtle and tortoise species are threatened and noise pollution is an additional stressor to consider as various parties seek to protect these animals.

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