Adding insult to injury: anthropogenic noise intensifies predation risk by an invasive freshwater fish species

Abstract

The ecological impact of invasive species is likely to be modulated by human-induced alterations in habitats, which represents another driver of biodiversity loss. We tested the effect of soundscape degradation on predation by the round goby Neogobius melanostomus, one of Europe’s “worst invasive species”. For this, we compared the relationship between per capita predation rate and prey density (i.e., the functional response) in the presence or absence of motorboat sounds. Unexpectedly, fish displayed a stronger functional response with additional noise, which could be explained by a higher mobility promoting encounters with prey. Our results suggest that anthropogenic noise is likely to exacerbate the impact of invasive species.