British research suggests that man-made noise pollution may be linked to increased risk of disease among fish.

A team at Cardiff University in the UK has tested how susceptible guppies become to parasitic infections when exposed to acute and chronic noise.

They found that the fish exposed to acute noise suffered significantly increased parasite infection compared to those with no noise.

By contrast, fish experiencing chronic noise had the lowest parasite burden, but died significantly earlier.

Interestingly, fish that were exposed to chronic noise showed the greatest resistance to disease. These fish, however, were prone to higher mortality compared to fish exposed to acute noise; suggesting a fatal trade-off.

The authors say their findings could have important implications for fish farming.

The study is accessible here.