Review on behavioral impacts of aquatic noise on crustaceans

Abstract

This review identified eleven peer-reviewed articles on behavioral impacts of noise on aquatic crustaceans, examining one freshwater species and several marine species, of which all are decapod crustaceans. Research incorporated noise sources such as low-frequency pile driving and airgun exploitation for seismic surveys, ship, and boat noise as well as white noise and pure tones. The studies suggest a variety of biological and ecological impacts ranging from increase in some behaviors (for instance locomotion) and stress, reduced and slower antipredator behavior, changes in foraging, suppressed behaviors with an ecological function (bioirrigation), and changes to intraspecific behavior (for instance agonistic encounters). More research on crustaceans and clearer reporting on the methods used to expose them to noise during experiments are needed. This would allow for consistent methods and ready comparison of results across studies.