Bad news: 15 minutes of thrumming from a diesel engine makes squid hard of hearing. Good news: the cephalopods can recover within hours—if we let them.
Standing next to the speakers at a loud concert can leave your ears ringing. Some squid, it turns out, are much the same: listening to just 15 minutes of boat noise makes hummingbird bobtail squid temporarily deaf. Even though the animals can regain their hearing within hours, the ever-present din of human noise pollution means squid may never get the chance to recover.
Squid’s noise sensitivity stems from the structure of their hearing organs, a pair of tiny fluid-filled sacs called statocysts. Similar to the human inner ear, statocysts can detect vibrations, gravity, and the animal’s orientation in its watery surroundings. Although our understanding of squid physiology is still developing, it’s likely that the delicate structures are easily damaged by loud, low-frequency sounds.
Boat Noise Makes Squid Temporarily Deaf | Hakai Magazine
Standing next to the speakers at a loud concert can leave your ears ringing. Some squid, it turns out, are much the same: listening to just 15 minutes of boat noise makes hummingbird bobtail squid temporarily deaf. Even though the animals can regain their hearing within hours, the ever-present din of human noise pollution means squid may never get the chance to recover.
Squid’s noise sensitivity stems from the structure of their hearing organs, a pair of tiny fluid-filled sacs called statocysts. Similar to the human inner ear, statocysts can detect vibrations, gravity, and the animal’s orientation in its watery surroundings. Although our understanding of squid physiology is still developing, it’s likely that the delicate structures are easily damaged by loud, low-frequency sounds.
Boat Noise Makes Squid Temporarily Deaf | Hakai Magazine