Cephalopods experience massive acoustic trauma from noise
pollution in the oceans Noise pollution in the oceans has been
shown to cause physical and behavioral changes in marine life,
especially in dolphins and whales, which rely on sound for daily
activities. However, low frequency sound produced by large
scale, offshore activities is also suspected to have the
capacity to cause harm to other marine life as well. Giant
squid, for example, were found along the shores of Asturias,
Spain in 2001 and 2003 following the use of airguns by offshore
vessels and examinations eliminated all known causes of lesions
in these species, suggesting that the squid deaths could be
related to excessive sound exposure. Michel André, Technical
University of Catalonia in Barcelona, and colleagues examined
the effects of low frequency sound exposure—similar to what the
giant squid would have experienced in Asturias—in four
cephalopod species. As reported in an article published in
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (e-View),