Cephlapods Suffer From Noise Pollution

It is well known that noise pollution in water, from activities such as offshore drilling, cargo transportation, industrial fishing and recreational boating, has an impact on marine mammals, but new research has supported previous thoughts that it can also affect cephlapods, that is squids, octopus and cuttlefish. In fact, the impact is so severe it may cause stranding and even death.

"This is the first study indicating a severe impact on invertebrates, an extended group of marine species that are not known to rely on sound for living," says Michel André, Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona, in a press release.

 

Four species of cephlapod were subjected to low and high frequency sounds for two hours, and the effects of the noise on the invertebrates was dramatic. Damage was found in the statocysts, which are sensory organs that balance the cephalopods. Inside the statocysts hair cells had ruptured, nerve fibers had swelled, and, in the worst cases, even suffered lesions that continued to grow larger hours after exposure. The results have devastating implications, given the relatively low frequencies used during the experiment compared to the level of noise pollution found in the ocean.

 

The statocyst plays such an important role in cephlapod behaviour, regulating balance and spatial orientation, in the wild, damage to this area affects a cephlapods ability to hunt, evade predators and reproduce, which would lead to almost certain death.

 

Of course, as André points out, this asks more questions than it answers, if noise pollution can affect marine mammals and now cephlapods, what does this mean for the rest of the marine web? How much damage is being caused?

Hong Kongers Say No to Shark Fin Soup

Hong Kong is responsible for importing 277 million US dollars worth of sharks fin in 2007, making it the largest importer of sharks fin in the world.

 

However, there is hope, almost 80% of Hong Kongers interviewed in a poll have stated they would be happy to keep sharks fin off the menu for their wedding.

Sharks fin soup is considered a delicacy, and is usually consumed during wedding banquets and special occasions. Many young couples are pressured into having sharks fin soup at their wedding, as a traditional dish that indicates a family's wealth and prosperity.

It also has a huge role to play in the dramatic decrease and almost collapse of some shark species populations. Some sharks have been hunted to near extinction, with less great white sharks then tigers in the world. As a slow to mature and slow to reproduce species, sharks are particularly vulnerable to over fishing.

 

BLOOM, a non-profit organisation that interviewed 1,000 people between 2009-2010, found that 85% would also support a ban on fin imports. Worryingly, 70% admitted they ate the soup at least once a year, despite 2/3 saying they felt uncomfortable eating an endangered fish.

 

Recently sharks fin soup has been making the news, with many non-governmental organizations campaigning for a ban on the dish, with some success; many countries have imposed regulations on the practice of finning, importing fins without the rest of the carcass, with countries like Malaysia banning it from governmental functions. Hawaii became the first state to ban the possession of fins.

A Clean Bill of Health

Researchers from the University of Oslo investigating duck sperm have made two fascinating discoveries, first, duck sperm can destroy bacteria that can be dangerous to sperm, such as E. coli, and secondly, that those ducks with a higher amount of antibacterial sperm also had more colourful bills.

It was previously known that bill colour played a role in mate choice, but as this research shows, females may use this visual cue to show preference over ducks that indicate a lack of sexually transmitted disease and better sperm quality.

By selecting the males with brightly coloured bills, not only are they are protecting themselves from STDs, but guaranteeing a male with superior sperm, free of bacteria induced damage.