What is the point of this research? Is the AAAS here spreading misanthropy again?
Of course, over 8 billion humans roaming the Earth make noise!
That these authors were clearly biased is already indicated in the title of their paper. Anthropocene is obscene!
Animals often also make a lot of, sometimes annoying noise!
The authors also give the impression that any human noise is harmful and alters animal behavior! As if any change in animal behavior is harmful by itself.
Does this study qualify as junk science?
"Scientists have long known that noise from human activities—from the roar of jet engines to the whir of ship propellers—can harm animals.
But it’s been unclear just how pervasive the problem is. A massive analysis published in Science reveals the impacts are far more widespread than even researchers thought.
Data from 177 species that live on land and in the water reveal the vast majority are impacted by sound in some way, fundamentally altering their biology and behaviors, and causing many to die early [???]. ..."
"Scientists have long known that noise from human activities—from the roar of jet engines to the whir of ship propellers—can harm animals, stunting their growth and even scrambling their eggs. But it’s been unclear just how pervasive the problem is. ..."
"... The study also revealed how noise pollution reached all the way down to the animals' genes. It wasn't just stress hormones or behaviour that changed under noise, but researchers found measurable changes in gene activity itself. ..."
From the editor's summary and abstract:
"Editor’s summary
Noise is increasingly a continuous presence across not only urban environments but all environments. Even remote regions experience noise from aircraft flyovers and distant industrial activity.
Many studies have shown that noise affects a wide array of species, but the shape of such effects is varied and variable.
Kunc and Schmidt looked across more than 200 studies, covering a wide array of species and regions, and found that noise has altered behavior, physiology, or development in 80% of the species included, with effects on fitness and survival. Although responses varied, the authors found that noise has become an important selective force globally. ...
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise is a rapidly expanding global pollutant, but its effects across biological levels from individuals to ecosystems remain unquantified.
We conducted phylogenetically controlled meta-analyses of 214 experimental studies on 177 aquatic and terrestrial species with ranges that span six continents.
Noise altered at least one physiological, developmental, or behavioral trait in 80% of species studied, with declines in fitness and abundance and disruptions of predator-prey interactions.
Effects occurred in every habitat, although response mechanisms varied for some traits and species, creating winners and losers. Only multispecies analyses can reveal such species- and ecosystem-level impacts of anthropogenic stressors.
Our results establish noise as a novel selection pressure reshaping ecosystem dynamics and as a pervasive stressor requiring soundscape protection alongside habitat conservation."
Wildlife paying the price for noise pollution, Queen’s study finds (original news release) "New research by Queen’s University Belfast has found that noise pollution is having increasingly significant impacts on the development, behaviour and mortality of species worldwide."
Echoes of the Anthropocene: Noise pollution as a global threat (no public access)
