제 17 호 Dolphin’s Shout for Communication
Kicker: SCIENCE
Dolphin’s Shout for Communication
by Ji-Min Baek, Reporter
Man-made noise pollution is affecting dolphin's communication. According to the new research, dolphins' cries for communication get louder in the noise pollution. Dolphins, known as intelligent and social animals, communicate through various frequencies and sound. In addition, sound waves with high frequencies are used to recognize the surrounding environment. As such, sound which is the most important part of communication for dolphins, is being interrupted by human noise, and dolphins are struggling.
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About the New Research
The study, which found that human noise makes it difficult for dolphins to communicate and cooperate, was published in the scientific journal “Current Biology”. In this study, the research team put two bottle-nosed dolphins in an experimental lake and set up a noisy situation and general situation. In this situation, the dolphins performed a cooperative mission to press the button on the opposite corner within a certain period of time, and the researchers observed their behavior. There was also a difference in the time of departure for the button, creating a situation in which communication could only be made through sound. According to observation, exposure to increasingly loud noises nearly doubled the duration and volume of the dolphin’s sound for communication. In addition, communication failures have been shown to increase. As a result, there was difference in the communication success rate of 85% for high noise and 62.5% for general noise.
Changing Dolphin’s Communication
As such, dolphins are changing for their communication and cooperation in the noise. In addition, not only did they raise their voices, but they also increased the number of cases facing each other. Dolphins can show this behavior because their hearing is sensitive to direction. Facing each other can help separate the other’s signal and noise. The louder the noise, the more frequent the body moves toward each other and the more it becomes to swim and get closer. These actions show that it is difficult for dolphins to overcome noise because they cannot communicate smoothly simply by raising their voices.
The Problem of Continuing Communication Errors
Professor King, co-author of the study, said, “If a group of wild animals cooperate to find food, the health of each individual will deteriorate and the health of the entire group will eventually become worse.” In addition, since dolphins rely on sound to communicate when hunting and mating, noise levels can affect the survival of the entire colony as well as the behavior of dolphins.
Noise pollution has soared for decades as human marine activities have increased due to ship operations, earthquake exploration, and wind power generation. As a result, the above problems have arisen, and it seems to have a negative effect on not only dolphins but also other marine life. It seems that it is necessary to pay attention to the continued pain and abnormal behavior of dolphins in this situation and seek solutions accordingly.
Sources:
Dolphins 'shout' to get heard over noise pollution - BBC News
https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1007042947&plink=ORI&cooper=NAVER
