Third Ear by Elizabeth Rosner

Author:Elizabeth Rosner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Catapult
Published: 2024-08-10T00:00:00+00:00

. . .

Is there code-switching in the animal world? “Marine scientists have observed that the melodies that orcas and humpback whales send through the sea have been changing rapidly over the last four decades. Instead of the psychedelic cetacean blues rhythms of the 1960s, nowadays the broken syncopes of grunge and rap pass through the waves as if the animals had adapted to the augmented underwater din” created by ever-growing numbers of cruise ships and container ships.2

Research shows a variety of ways that dolphin behavior changes to compensate for anthropogenic noise and its impacts on their echolocation practices. In one recent study, for instance, “the cetaceans turned their bodies toward each other and paid greater attention to each other’s location. At times, they nearly doubled the length of their calls and amplified their whistles, in a sense shouting, to be heard above cacophonies.”3

I’m here, I’m here.

Much worse than evidence of dolphins shouting is accumulated data that suggests our sonic booming (especially from military testing) is causing acoustic trauma to marine mammals. Short-term as well as long-term impacts can include decreases in feeding, which lead to delays in sexual maturation, increased infant mortality, and shortened life spans. Studies continue to measure (albeit with logistical difficulty) the associations between mass strandings of certain whale species and the use of sonars.4

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