Noise pollution: acute noise exposure increases susceptibility to disease and chronic exposure reduces host survival

Anthropogenic noise is a pervasive global pollutant that has been detected in every major habitat on the planet. Detrimental impacts of noise pollution on physiology, immunology and behaviour have been shown in terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates. Equivalent research on aquatic organisms has until recently been stunted by the misnomer of a silent underwater world. In fish, however, noise pollution can lead to stress, hearing loss, behavioural changes and impacted immmunity. But, the functional effects of impacted immunity on disease resistance due to noise exposure have remained neglected. Parasites that cause transmissible disease are key drivers of ecosystem biodiversity and a significant factor limiting the sustainable expansion of the animal trade. Therefore, understanding how a pervasive stressor is impacting host-parasite interactions will have far reaching implications for global animal health.  

Here, we investigated the impact of acute and chronic noise on vertebrate s...