Manatees respond to high ambient noise by feeding more and milling less
Evidence
Changes in behavior has been observed in the manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) by Miksis-Olds and Wagner (2011). This species when the ambient noise is high spends more time feeding and less time milling (undirected movement). The increased foraging activity can be explained as an attempt to meet nutritional requirements in the shortest time possible when experiencing noise disturbance that could be considered a menace or a dangerous situation. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 1358
Categorization
- CANDY: The counterintuitive idea that noisy danger makes a slow grazer eat faster — a pleasant trivia fact.
- QUESTION: Is this time-compensated foraging common across herbivores under threat, or specific to manatees?
- XREF: connects to: Technological noise alters animal behavior and threatens species like marine mammals. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 9; Hearing-specialist fish evolved in quiet waters and suffer heavy masking in noisy ones — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1347; Organisms adapt to natural noise but suffer stress from anthropogenic noise — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1275 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- Helicopter noise measurably alters bighorn sheep foraging behavior
#exemplifies(0.85) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 485 - Organisms adapt to natural noise but suffer stress from anthropogenic noise
#corroborates(0.80) — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 1275