70 | IMPACTS OF ANTHROPOGENIC NOISE ON CEPHALOCHORDATES

E. Serafini¹, M. Bozzo¹, E. Bosi¹, V. Bazzurro¹, G. Blumer², E. Rodriguéz Quintana³, N. P. Torres Águila³, G. Sabbadin⁴, E. Panarari⁵, S. Norland⁶, M. Pestarino¹, S. Ravera⁷, V. Zaffaroni-Caorsi⁸, I. Guarneri⁹, R. M. Alsina-Pagès¹⁰, I. Nou-Plana¹⁰, G. Zambon⁸, R. Pennati², S. Candiani¹ | ¹DISTAV, University of Genoa, Italy; ²ESP University of Milano, Italy; ³Dep. de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística and IRBio, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain; ⁴DiBio, University of Padua, Italy; ⁵SZN, Naples, Italy; ⁶Michael Sars Centre, University of Bergen, Norway; ⁷DIMES, University of Genoa, Italy; ⁸DISAT, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy; ⁹CNR-ISMAR, Venice, Italy; ¹⁰HER, Universitat Ramon Llull - La Salle, Barcelona, Spain

Human activities have significantly altered the natural soundscape of the oceans, posing a growing threat to these ecosystems. Anthropogenic underwater noise is known to detrimentally affect many marine species. However, most research has focused on sound perception in mammals and fish, while invertebrate bioacoustics and their responses remain largely understudied. Cephalochordates (amphioxus), due to their vertebrate-like anatomical traits and sensory cells homologous to hair cells, serve as an ideal model for studying the effect of noise pollution. In this study we investigated the effects of marine noise on Branchiostoma lanceolatum by analyzing biochemical parameters, transcriptomic profiles via RNA-sequencing, and filter-feeding activity. Laboratory tests utilized two soundtracks of maritime traffic noise: a real underwater recording and a synthetic one, created according to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Amphioxus were exposed to noise for 1 hour and then kept in silence. Responses were measured immediately and after 24 hours of recovery. The results suggest that amphioxus can perceive acoustic stimuli and that noise exposure can significantly affect this species. Our findings highlight the urgent need to further investigate anthropogenic underwater noise in marine environments, emphasizing its detrimental impact on marine invertebrates.
Acknowledgments: This work was produced with the financing of the Ministry of University and Research as part of the Call relating to the scrolling of the final rankings of the PRIN 2022 call (CUP: D53C24004440006, cod. N. 2022SF7HY9 and by JPI Oceans, Project NoiseInTheSea-2022-001.