Congregating in a field to watch our favourite bands feels like a distant memory at this point. Whilst many of us are itching to get back to the hallowed turf of the music festival, the current festival drought may be a blessing for some unlikely attendees. It turns out our underwater friends the toadfish don’t share this love of live music.
A study from the Journal of Environmental Pollution tested decibel levels above and below water, as well as stress hormone levels of toadfish in bodies of water surrounding Ultra Music Festival 2019 in Miami, Florida. The study found a significant increase in noise pollution in the surrounding waterways and a 4 – 5 times rise in cortisol, the toadfish’s main stress hormone.
Toadfish experienced higher levels of stress during the 2019 edition of Ultra Music Festival Miami.
On top of the raised stress levels caused by the noise, the festival may be interfering with the toadfish’s ability to hear bottlenose dolphins, one of the animals main predators. Toadfish often avoid being eaten by eavesdropping on hungry dolphins, a practice that could be interrupted by the increased underwater noise pollution created by Tiesto throwing down a hot new trance track.
Whilst more research is needed to understand the impacts of noise pollution on wildlife both in and out of the water, we can definitely conclude you should not bring your pet toadfish to the next Deadmau5 gig.
