更高的海水溫度使海洋中聲音最大的動物之一聲音變得更大

更高的海水溫度使海洋中聲音最大的動物之一聲音變得更大

When thinking of noisy marine wildlife, your mind likely jumps to something big like a whale – and rightly so, with the sperm whale clocking in an impressive 230 decibels for their communicative clicks, which are amplified by the oil-filled spermaceti organs that give them their name. Following close behind however is a tiny crustacean whose massive claw packs an audible punch.

當你想到吵鬧的海洋野生動物時，你的大腦很可能會跳到像鯨魚一樣的大東西上——事實也確實如此，抹香鯨發(fā)出的交流聲高達230分貝，這些聲音被充油的抹香鯨器官放大，正是這些器官賦予了它們的名字。然而緊隨其后的是一只小甲殼類動物，它巨大的爪子能發(fā)出響亮的重擊聲。

Snapping shrimp, also known as pistol shrimp, can create a sound louder than a gunshot, clocking at 210 decibels. Collectively they create the loudest sound in the ocean, and a recent study presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020 has discovered they’re only getting louder, spelling big problems for marine ecosystems.

嚙蝦，也被稱為手槍蝦，可以發(fā)出比槍聲更響亮的聲音，達到210分貝。它們共同創(chuàng)造了海洋中最大的聲音，最近在2020年海洋科學會議上發(fā)表的一項研究發(fā)現，它們的聲音只會越來越大，給海洋生態(tài)系統(tǒng)帶來了大問題。

As part of the family Alpheidae, they’re famed for their asymmetrical claws, one of which is huge, and there are about 119 species including The Wall-inspired Synalpheus pinkfloydi. They roam the oceans in colonies of over 300 members snapping their enormous claws as they go (sort of like the gangs in West Side Story only with fewer pirouettes) and are a nightmare for submarines.

作為翼龍科的一員，翼龍因其不對稱的爪子而聞名，其中一個巨大的翼龍共有119種，其中包括靈感來自墻壁的翼龍。它們在海洋中漫游，300多名成員一邊行走一邊咬著巨大的爪子(有點像西城故事里的幫派，只是旋轉動作更少)，對潛艇來說是噩夢。

The noise they make collectively is known as the “shrimp layer” and it’s so loud it can block out a submarine’s sonar. This sound is created as a result of the speed at which they snap their claw – approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour. This high-speed click creates a vacuum that expels a searing bubble of heat that at 4,400°C (7,950°F) is almost as hot as the surface of the Sun. This high-pressure cavitation bubble collapses producing sonoluminescence, the combination of light and sound. They’re the Snap, Crackle and Pop of crustaceans.

它們共同發(fā)出的聲音被稱為“蝦層”，它的聲音如此之大，以至于可以阻擋潛水艇的聲納。這種聲音的產生是由于它們折斷爪子的速度——大約每小時100公里(62英里)。在4400°C(7950°F)的溫度下，這個灼熱的氣泡幾乎和太陽表面一樣熱。這個高壓空化泡崩塌產生聲致發(fā)光，光和聲音的結合。它們是甲殼類動物發(fā)出的噼啪聲。

According to new research, these rambunctious gangs of crustaceans are getting even louder and increasing ocean temperatures are to blame. The discovery was made when marine biologists Aran Mooney and Ashlee Lillis at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution tested the effects of changing temperature on the shrimp tanks in their lab.

根據最新的研究，這些吵鬧的甲殼類動物群體的聲音越來越大，海洋溫度的升高是罪魁禍首。這一發(fā)現是在伍茲霍爾海洋研究所的海洋生物學家阿蘭·穆尼和阿什莉·利利斯在他們的實驗室里測試了溫度變化對蝦池的影響后得出的。

Listening in to the shrimp, they found that as the temperature increased so too did the frequency and volume of the snaps. As cold-blooded animals, the body temperature and activity of snapping shrimp is largely controlled by their environment, so warmer waters increase their activity. The same is seen in ants on land that move slower when it’s cold and faster when it’s hot.

通過監(jiān)聽蝦的聲音，他們發(fā)現隨著溫度的升高，響動的頻率和音量也會增加。作為冷血動物，嚙蝦的體溫和活動在很大程度上是由它們所處的環(huán)境控制的，因此水溫升高會增加它們的活動。同樣的情況也發(fā)生在陸地上的螞蟻身上，它們在寒冷的時候行動緩慢，而在炎熱的時候行動迅速。

Snapping shrimp have assymetrical claws. Matthew R McClure/Shutterstock

"We can actually show in the field that not only does snap rate increase, but the sound levels increase as well," Mooney said. "So, the seas are actually getting louder as water [reaches] warmer temperatures."

穆尼說:“我們實際上可以證明，在野外，不僅拍速率會增加，聲音水平也會增加。所以，海水溫度升高時，聲音實際上會越來越大。”

Louder snapping shrimp potentially poses a danger to marine ecosystems where many animals use sound to communicate. If the oceans get louder, there’s a chance it could impact marine animals’ chances of finding a mate, defending their territory, and hunting for food. The existing research can’t support or deny if this is likely to happen, but Mooney notes that it’s an important avenue for future investigation.

大聲嚙蝦可能會對海洋生態(tài)系統(tǒng)造成威脅，因為許多動物都用聲音來交流。如果海洋聲音變大，可能會影響海洋動物尋找配偶、保衛(wèi)領地和尋找食物的機會。現有的研究不能支持或否認這種可能性，但穆尼指出，這是未來研究的一個重要途徑。

And it’s not just fish that might suffer. Snapping shrimp are already known to interfere with sonar instruments, which are vital to fisherman searching for catch. On top of which their racket could potentially block instruments used by the Navy to detect mines, posing a threat to national defense.

受影響的不只是魚類。據悉，捕捉蝦會干擾聲納設備，這對漁民尋找獵物至關重要。除此之外，他們的“球拍”可能會阻擋海軍探測水雷的儀器，對國防構成威脅。

The more we discover about our oceans the stranger it seems that it has a reputation for peace and tranquility. Find out about more obstreperous ocean life with singing whales, loud-mouthed fish and even a worm whose racket goes beyond the human threshold for pain.

我們對海洋了解得越多，就越覺得它以和平與安寧而著稱。了解更多的海洋生物，包括會唱歌的鯨魚，說話大聲的魚，甚至是一種聲音超過人類承受痛苦的能力的蠕蟲。