Data from: Size-dependent physiological responses of shore crabs to single and repeated playback of ship noise

Anthropogenic noise has fundamentally changed the acoustics of terrestrial
and aquatic environments, and there is growing empirical evidence that
even a single noise exposure can impact behaviour in a variety of
vertebrate organisms. Here we use controlled experiments to investigate
how the physiology of a marine invertebrate, the shore crab (Carcinus
maenas), is affected by both single and repeated exposure to ship-noise
playback. Crabs experiencing ship-noise playback consumed more oxygen,
indicating a higher metabolic rate and potentially greater stress, than
those exposed to ambient-noise playback. The response to single ship-noise
playback was size-dependent, with heavier crabs showing a stronger
response than lighter individuals. Repeated exposure to ambient-noise
playback led to increased oxygen consumption (likely due to handling
stress), whereas repeated exposure to ship-noise playback produced no
change in physiological response; explanations include the possibility
that crabs exhibited a maximal response on first exposure to ship-noise
playback or that they habituated or become tolerant to it. These results
highlight that invertebrates, like vertebrates, may also be susceptible to
the detrimental impacts of anthropogenic noise, and demonstrate their
tractability for more detailed investigations into the effects of this
pervasive global pollutant.

人为噪声已从根本上改变了陆地与水生环境的声学特征，且日益增多的实证证据显示，即便单次噪声暴露，也会对多种脊椎动物的行为造成影响。本研究采用对照实验，探究了海洋无脊椎动物滨蟹（Carcinus maenas）的生理状态在单次与重复船舶噪声回放暴露下的变化情况。结果表明，相较于暴露于环境噪声回放的滨蟹，接受船舶噪声回放的个体耗氧量更高，提示其代谢速率更快、潜在应激水平也更强。单次船舶噪声回放引发的生理响应具有体型依赖性：体型较重的滨蟹相较体型较轻的个体，响应强度更高。反复暴露于环境噪声回放的滨蟹，其耗氧量出现上升（该现象大概率源于操作应激）；而反复暴露于船舶噪声回放的滨蟹，生理响应并未发生显著变化。对此的潜在解释包括：滨蟹在首次暴露于船舶噪声回放时已达到最大响应，或是其对船舶噪声产生了习惯化与耐受。本研究结果证实，与脊椎动物类似，无脊椎动物同样可能受到人为噪声的有害影响，同时也表明滨蟹可作为理想实验模型，用于深入探究这种全球性广泛污染物的生态效应。