The increasing anthropogenic noise in the oceans has affected odontocetes at multiple levels. We showed that populations of odontocetes inhabiting many Atlantic and Pacific waters have decreased by an average of 40.0%, while vessel density and the resulting noise have increased by 119.8 % and 2.7 dB respectively. Odontocetes are known to employ acoustic mechanisms to compensate for increasing noise, but our understanding of the effectiveness and limitations of these adaptations remains limited. A specific case study was conducted on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) inhabiting Xiamen Bay where vessel density and noise amplitude increased in the past decade. Monthly surveys conducted over three consecutive years revealed that the dolphins increased the amplitude of their echolocation clicks in response to the increasing noise. However, these acoustic adjustments were insufficient to fully mitigate the impacts of vessel noise, resulting in reduction in detection range and space. Although the dolphins demonstrated adaptive control over their biosonar clicks to cope with vessel noise, this study showed that vessel noise may impair the dolphins’ detection capabilities, raising attention to address the extent of noise tolerance for odontocetes in coastal waters.

Zhongchang Song is currently an Associate Professor and Ph.D. Supervisor under the Nanqiang Young Top Talent Program (Category B) at Xiamen University. His research mainly focuses on marine bioacoustics, ecoacoustics, and biomimetic technologies.

He has served as principal investigator for seven national and provincial/ministerial-level research projects, including national-level research programs and grants such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). He has also participated in more than 20 major research projects, including national key R&D programs and NSFC key projects.

To date, he has published 61 SCI-indexed papers in journals including Science Advances, with 23 papers as first author and 19 papers as corresponding author. He has been granted six invention patents, received the First Prize of the Fujian Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award in 2023 (Ranked 4th contributor), and authored two academic monographs.

He is currently a Youth Committee Member of the Chinese Society of Bioacoustics and a Youth Committee Member of the Chinese Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (CSNAME).