The importance of natural soundscapes and noise pollution threats to freshwater fauna in quiet waters

Animals rely on limited sensory information to make behavioral decisions. Sounds are important underwater and especially relevant in quiet freshwater habitat. However, acoustic masking may also be severe in quiet waters and reduce signal efficiency for vital behaviors, such as mating, habitat selection, territory defense, foraging, and predator avoidance. There is growing support for noise mitigation measures in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, but policy is lagging behind for freshwater, which involves some of the most vulnerable ecosystems in the world. Many of the fish species with the most sensitive hearing occupy freshwater habitats. Furthermore, acoustic communication by freshwater organisms, such as aquatic insects, amphibians, and fish, can be as diverse and abundant as in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Local habitat characteristics, such as sediment type, flow speeds, and presence of aquatic plants and animals, may be audible, while river boat noise and traffic noise from cities, roads, and bridges can undermine the audibility. The authors therefore call for a rise in acoustic awareness and urge policymakers to implement measures for noise mitigation in vulnerable quiet waters with endangered species

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