Chronic playback of boat noise does not impact hatching success or post-hatching larval growth and survival in a cichlid fish.

ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic (man-made) noise has been shown to have a negative impact on the behaviour and physiology of a range of terrestrial and aquatic animals. However, direct assessments of fitness consequences are rare. Here we examine the effect of additional noise on early life stages in the model cichlid fish, Neolamprologus pulcher. Many fishes use and produce sounds, they are crucial elements of aquatic ecosystems, and there is mounting evidence that they are vulnerable to anthropogenic noise; adult N. pulcher have recently been shown to change key behaviours during playback of motor boat noise. Using a split-brood design to eliminate potential genetic effects, we exposed half of the eggs and fry from each clutch to four weeks of playbacks of noise originally recorded from small motor boats

SUBMITTER: Bruintjes R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4178459 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature