Researchers from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science released their findings of a study examining the effect noise from Ultra Music Festival had on fish swimming in nearby waters. The school has an experimental hatchery and research operations on Virginia Key, the barrier island near Miami where the festival took place.
During the festival, researchers conducted tests on toadfish at the hatchery as well as monitoring decibel levels in their tanks and surrounding waters. The university released the findings from the recent festival stating that the high decivel levels caused the toadfish to experience a "4- to 5-fold increase in blood cortisol, their main stress hormone, during the first night of the Ultra Music Festival compared to two baseline samples taken before Ultra began."
In a statement, Danielle McDonald, professor of marine biology and ecology at the UM Rosenstiel School said “the stress response was higher than what would be experienced when being chased by a simulated predator and similar to when hearing bottlenose dolphins, a toadfish predator.”
One of the main goals of the study was to find out the impact a large music festival can have on fish. Aside from testing cortisol levels, reasearches measured sound intensity in the air and underwater. They found the sound intensity increased by 7-9 decibels in the toadfish tanks and potentially by 2-3 decibels in nearby waters.
The long-term effects of the festival aren't known at the moment. However, that doesn't mean ther isn't an immediate effect. "Prior studies have shown that underwater noise pollution causes stress and various physiological and behavioral disruptions on communication, hearing, spawning behavior and reproduction in aquatic organisms,” Maria Cartolano, lead postdoctoral scientist on the study said.