106 | Health effects of noise pollution on juvenile crustaceans: behavioral and molecular responses in Procambarus clarkii

Maria Ceraulo^1|2, Giuseppa Buscaino¹, Clarissa De Vita¹, Aiti Vizzini^2|3|*, Mirella Vazzana^2|3, Elena Papale¹, Vincenzo Arizza^2|3, Francesco Longo³, Francesco Paolo Faraone³, Manuela Mauro^2|3 | ¹Institute for the Study of Anthropogenic impacts and Sustainability in the marine environment, National Research Council of Italy, Torretta Granitola, Campobello di Mazara [TP], Italy; ²NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Italy; ³Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies STEBICEF, University of Palermo, Italy.

Anthropogenic underwater noise is an emerging environmental pollutant capable of interfering with biological processes in aquatic organisms (Kunc et al. 2016). Despite growing attention to its ecological relevance, limited information is available on how acoustic disturbance affects the health of juvenile invertebrates, a life stage often critical for population persistence (Solé et al. 2023). In this study, juvenile Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) were exposed to broadband underwater noise (1–20 kHz linear sweep) to investigate integrated responses across behavioral, cellular, and molecular levels. Behavioral traits related to activity, feeding, and social interactions were quantified through video tracking and ethological analysis. To evaluate physiological health status, a suite of cellular biomarkers associated with metabolism, enzymatic activity, and oxidative balance was measured, together with the expression of genes involved in immune defense, stress response, and apoptosis. Noise exposure led to marked alterations in behavioral patterns, characterized by increased feeding and interaction rates, while overall locomotor activity was not significantly affected. Physiological analyses highlighted a shift in metabolic and antioxidant profiles, including increased protein content and enzymatic activity alongside reduced glucose availability. At the molecular level, transcriptional modulation of stress- and immunity-related genes, coupled with the suppression of key antioxidant enzymes, pointed to a disturbance of redox homeostasis. Collectively, these results demonstrate that underwater noise can impair health-related processes in juvenile crustaceans, emphasizing the need to consider acoustic pollution in environmental health risk assessments.