History has shown us that there are many ways of killing arthropods. Arthropods are a group of animals that include insects, spiders and crustaceans. Now it looks like there is yet another way of killing mass amounts of bugs–noise pollution. According to a study done at the Museum of Natural History, big industrial machines, mostly gas compressors, are triggering a decrease in nearby arthropod populations.
Grasshoppers, crickets, velvet ants, wolf spiders, and camel crickets are just a few of the insect populations that are dropping dead as a result of nearby noise pollution. All of these insect populations dropped dead when they were near gas compressors. However, one bug type, the leafhopper, appeared to grow in population size when located near gas compressors.
Scientists are worried that this sudden drop off in different insect populations could have a negative impact on the ecosystem. This is due to the fact that spiders and insects consume a large amount of unwanted plant life and insect-pests. Also, and perhaps most important, many of the insects that are dying as a result of noise pollution are major pollinators. These bugs are part of the ecosystem, so removing these bugs from nature could result in dire consequences.
According to an official working with the Museum of Natural History, noise pollution has a negative impact on many different animals, and insects could be impacted worse of all. Although these animals are small, they have existed for millions of years, and they are the dominant animals on the planet. What happens to insects also happens to entire ecosystems.
This particular study is not the first of its kind. Noise pollution is an increasing concern among many scientists, and this one study only adds to a large body of studies that already exist on how noise pollution affects arthropods.
Have you ever heard about noise pollution having a negative health impact on any animal?
