Response of Freshwater Zooplankton Communities to Chronic Anthropogenic Noise
Résumé
Man-made sounds are now recognized as a pervasive pollutant, and impacts on wildlife have been researched for many years. However, less knowledge is available on certain species, particularly small freshwater invertebrates, which are abundant, highly diversified, and occupy key positions in food webs. Also, it is not clear whether the responses to noise observed at the level of individuals have consequences on communities. A mesocosm investigation was performed to assess the response of a freshwater planktonic community to chronic motorboat noise. Noise was expected to disturb trophic links within the community and particularly the consumption of cladocerans by dipteran larvae. To test this hypothesis, the functional response of Chaoborus larvae feeding on Daphnia was derived, and their behavior during the foraging process was recorded in microcosms (aquariums). Although noise did not induce obvious alteration in the community composition, a significant increase in the abundance of cladocerans was found that was not supported by the results of the microcosm investigation, showing no difference in Chaoborus functional response or behavior between the noisy and noiseless conditions. The results of this chapter suggest that the composition of freshwater zooplankton and particularly cladocerans is likely to be altered by chronic noise, with further investigations needed to understand the mechanisms. They also illustrate how scaling up the effects of noise from individual responses to community remains difficult.
Auteurs, date et publication :
Auteurs Emilie Rojas , Camille Desjonquères , Simon Agostini , Sarah Fiorini , Béatriz Decencière , Michael Danger , Vincent Felten , Vincent Médoc , Arthur N. Popper , Joseph Sisneros , Anthony D. Hawkins , Frank Thomsen
Date : 2025
Pages : 1-17