Ship noise leaves crabs too stressed to hide from danger
Monday, March 9, 2020 - 13:30
in Earth & Climate
The ocean is getting too loud even for crabs. Normally, shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) can slowly change their shell color to blend in with the rocky shore, but recent findings show that prolonged exposure to the sounds of ships weakens their camouflaging powers and leaves them more open to attack. The work illustrates how human-made undersea noise can turn shore crabs into sitting ducks for predators.