Why are whales and dolphins especially vulnerable to underwater noise pollution?

Whales and dolphins are especially vulnerable to underwater noise pollution because they rely heavily on sound as their primary sensory mechanism to navigate, communicate, find food, and avoid predators in an environment where seawater is far more transparent to sound than to light.123

Their vulnerability is driven by several key factors:

• Reliance on Echolocation: Many species, particularly toothed whales and dolphins, use echolocation to perceive their surroundings. They emit sound pulses and interpret the returning echoes to gain detailed information about their environment, similar to how sighted humans use vision. Noise pollution creates chaotic interference that disrupts these signals.231
• Communication Interference: Whales use complex vocalizations to share information, identify pod members, and attract mates. Shipping noise often occurs in the same frequency bands used by baleen whales, making it difficult for them to communicate over the long distances their songs are designed to travel.4
• Acoustic Conductivity: Because water is an excellent conductor of sound, noise from human activities—such as shipping, seismic testing, oil drilling, and naval sonar—can travel hundreds of miles, creating an environment of constant, detrimental acoustic pollution.12

Exposure to intense sounds, particularly from naval sonar, is associated with severe behavioral disruptions and mass strandings of these animals.1