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Cod larvae may enjoy the sound of wind turbines

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This article was originally posted on Hakai magazine, online publication about science and society in coastal ecosystems. Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com.

Offshore wind is one of the fastest growing sources of renewable energy, and with its expansion, more attention is being paid to its potential side effects. Alessandro Cresci, a biologist at the Marine Research Institute in Norway, and his team showed that cod larvae are attracted to one of the low-frequency sounds made by wind turbines. a fish that drifts too close.

Kreshi and his colleagues made their discovery during experiments conducted in the deep water of a fjord near the Östevoll research station in Norway. The team placed 89 cod larvae in floating transparent mesh chambers that allowed them to drift naturally, then filmed them exposing half of the fish during a 15-minute test to an underwater sound projector tuned to 100 Hz to simulate a deep hum. with the help of windmills.

Left to their own devices, all cod larvae oriented northwest. Like the closely related haddockCod have an innate sense of direction that helps them swim in the ocean. When the scientists played back the low-frequency sound, the fry still preferred the northwest, but it was weak. Instead, the larvae preferred to point their body in the direction of the sound. Kreshi thinks the larvae may be attracted to 100Hz sound waves because that low frequency is part of the symphony of sounds that are sometimes part of the background noise along coastlines or at the bottom of the ocean where fish would like to settle.

The time-lapse video shows how the bot code orients itself in the direction of a low 100 Hz sound that mimics one of the frequencies emitted by offshore wind turbines. Video courtesy of Alessandro Cresci

As sound waves propagate through water, they compress and expand water molecules along the way. Fish can determine where sound is coming from by detecting changes in the movement of water particles. “In the water,” Kreshi says, “fish are connected to their environment, so all the vibrations of the water molecules are transmitted to the body.”

Like other creatures on land and in the sea, fish use sound to communicate, avoid predators, find prey, and understand the world around them. Sound also helps many sea creatures find the best place to live. In previous studies, scientists have shown that by playing the sounds of a thriving reef next to a degraded reef, they may lead to more fish settling in the area. For many species where they settle as larvae, they tend to be found as adults.

Even if fish larvae are attracted en masse to offshore wind farms, what happens next remains to be seen.

Since fishermen generally cannot work safely near the turbines, offshore wind farms can become pseudo-protected areas where fish populations can increase. But Ella Kim, a PhD student at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography who studies fish acoustics and was not involved in the study, says things could go the other way.

Kim suggests that even if fish larvae eventually coalesce inside offshore wind farms, the noise from the turbines and the increase in vessel traffic to service the equipment could drown out fish communication. “Once these larvae get there,” says Kim, “they will have such poor hearing that they won’t even be able to hear each other and reproduce?”

Aaron Rice, a bioacousticist at Cornell University in New York who was not involved in the study, says the study is useful because it shows that fish larvae not only can hear sound, but respond to it by orienting themselves to it. However, Rice adds that the underwater noise from real wind turbines is far more complex than the lone 100-Hz sound tested in the study. He says caution should be exercised in reading the results too closely.

In addition to noise pollution, many marine species are also at risk from overfishing, rising ocean temperatures, and other factors. When trying to decide whether offshore wind power is a net benefit or a detriment to marine life, it’s important to keep these other elements in mind, Rice said.

“The more we have an understanding of how offshore wind [power] affects the ocean,” he says, “the better we can respond to changing needs and minimize the impact.”

This article first appeared in Hakai magazine and is published here with permission.

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SCIENCE

EPA workers strike over wages

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1 hour ago

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April 16, 2023

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“People are choosing not to be part of these changes, the people who are doing it are just doing it to supplement their income and make ends meet,” said Graham Macro, an installation worker at the Environmental Protection Agency and a union representative for Prospect. will also amaze next month.

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SCIENCE

10 weird subreddits you need to see

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2 hours ago

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April 16, 2023

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Joe Fedeva / How to become a geek

Reddit is a huge community of people on thousands of different forums called “subreddits”. Anyone can create their own subreddit, which has led to the formation of some rather…weird groups. We’ve put together ten entertaining subreddits for you to enjoy.

11Foot8

11Foot8 is a subreddit inspired by the railway trestle bridge in Durham, North Carolina. The bridge, as you would expect, has a clearance of 11 feet 8 inches. There are many warning signs, but many trucks still try to pass under it, causing a big disaster. The subreddit also has photos from other low bridges.

R/11ft8

Cats on glass

Cats on glass

The title of this subreddit speaks for itself. It is dedicated to pictures of cats on glass, especially how silly and cute they look from below. This is a fun subreddit for animal lovers.

r/katsonglass

TVs that are too high

TVs that are too high

People can be very picky about how TVs are mounted. You don’t want her to be so tall that you crane your neck to look up. You don’t believe me? There is a whole subreddit dedicated to photos of TVs that are set too high.

p/TVTooHigh

Shower Orange

Shower Orange

Did you know that there are no rules against eating or drinking in the shower? Some foods are better to eat than others, and oranges seem to be at the top of the list, especially if the oranges are was chilled. This subreddit is for people who just love eating oranges in the shower.

r/ShowerOrange

Bread attached to trees

Bread attached to trees

Another self-evident subreddit is literally pictures of bread stapled to trees. Subreddit rules are very clear. It must be bread, it must be food, and it must be wood. And no more than three pieces per tree. Let’s not go crazy guys.

r/BreatStapletoTres

Cats in hats

Cats in hats

You will never guess what this subreddit is about! Dogs in shirts – okay, yes, these are cats in different hats. Sometimes it’s a real hat, sometimes a leaf from a tree or a cardboard box. You never know what you’ll see (but it will be the cat in the hat).

p/CatsWithHats

Owls with cat heads

Owls with cat heads

If you like good Photoshop, you’ll love this subreddit. I had no idea cat heads matched owl bodies so well until I found this subreddit, but it does work, and surprisingly not as creepy as one might expect. Who knew!

p/OwlsWithCatHeads

Beans in things

Beans in things

If you love baked beans, I have a subreddit for you. Beans In Things is dedicated to people who put canned baked beans in things that canned baked beans won’t do. Socks, popsicles, tarts, chocolate bunnies, whatever.

p/BeansInThings

Birds are not real

Birds are not real

Conspiracy theories can be fun to poke fun at, especially the really ridiculous ones. “Birds Are Not Real” is a satirical conspiracy theory claiming that birds are actually drones controlled by the government. This is a fun subreddit that shows how people find “evidence” to support conspiracy theories.

p/BirdsArentReal

Apple seed tea

Apple seed tea

Do you know the classic phrase people say when food is delicious? “Bone Apple Tea!” At least that’s how it might sound. This is a subreddit dedicated to misheard or misspelled words and phrases that make up funny new phrases.

r/BoneAppleTea

With so much frustrating stuff on the internet, it’s great to find communities on Reddit that form around silly, harmless entertainment. Eating an orange in the shower and texting your friends about it is a good time. But when you’re ready to clean up your heinous bean adventures, know how to delete your Reddit history.

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SCIENCE

Lyrid Starfall: what it is and how to observe it from April 15 to 29

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6 hours ago

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April 16, 2023

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Shooting stars during the 2020 Lyrid meteor shower

Ingo Barthussek/Shutterstock

The Lyrid meteor shower is one of the best chances to see shooting stars from anywhere in the world. It will be easier to see than usual this year thanks to a new moon on April 19, just a few days before the meteor shower’s predicted peak. This means you have a good chance of seeing shooting stars during the peak of the rainstorm, in the early hours of April 22 and 23 and the day before.

What is the Lyrid meteor shower?

Meteor showers are caused by clouds of debris left behind by comets. As the Earth passes through these clouds on its way around the Sun, tiny dust particles or rock particles enter the atmosphere at such a high speed that the friction between them and the air causes them to burn up, causing a flare that travels across the sky.

The Lyrids are caused by the long period comet C/1861 G1, also known as Thatcher. Discovered in 1861, Thatcher orbits the Sun in 415 years.

When is the Lyrid meteor shower?

The shower is expected between 15 and 29 April this year and will peak on 22 and 23 April.

Why is it called the Lyrid meteor shower?

Each meteor shower is named after the point in the sky where the meteors appear to be launched or emitted. In this case, it is the constellation Lyra in the northern hemisphere, which contains the bright star Vega.

Where can you see the Lyrid meteor shower?

If you are in the northern hemisphere, look for the constellation Lyra, which will be in the east just after sunset. The constellation will not be visible from the southern hemisphere, but meteors can travel in all directions, so some shooting stars may be visible if you look to the east as well.

How to watch the Lyrid meteor shower?

Don’t worry too much about finding Vega, just let your eyes adjust and look out for meteors flying across the sky in all directions. They will appear and disappear within a few seconds, quickly moving across the sky. From a dark area, free from the glow of the sky created by city lights, 10 to 15 meteors per hour should be visible at the peak of the shower.

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