Shelter from the noise

Researchers are studying the theory that kelp forests protect sensitive sea creatures by dampening ocean noise. They fear the thinning of the underwater forests will expose sea life to a sonic overload.

Marine ecologist Kieran Cox and colleagues last summer conducted a series of noise experiments in Barkley Sound on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

Marine animals rely heavily on sound to communicate, find food and protect themselves from predators. The sounds dolphins, sea lions and whales make are familiar, but fish make noises, too. “They’re bubbling at each other, they’re singing to each other, they’re humming to attract their mates,” said Cox.

“We’re losing kelp forests at a pretty alarming rate in some places,” he said, which may result in human noise drowning out the sounds of nature.

Read on in The Narwhal…