Fish are not fans of EDM.
According to a study by researchers at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, published in the journal Environmental Pollution, last year’s Ultra Music Festival in Miami was stressful for nearby fish.
Gulf toadfish experienced a four- to five-fold increase in the stress hormone cortisol. This is similar to the stress they feel when they hear a bottlenose dolphin, one of their predators.
Researchers were not able to determine what, if any, longterm effect the increased blood cortisol levels will have on the fish.
Based on past studies, ”underwater noise pollution causes stress and various physiological and behavioural disruptions on communication, hearing, spawning behaviour and reproduction in aquatic organisms," explained Maria Cartolano, in a release.
The research was done last year, when Ultra Music Festival took place at a new location on Virginia Key. It normally happens in Bayfront Park off Biscayne Bay.