Rock and roll IS noise pollution, Mississippi State study shows
Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 recent study by 草莓视频 researchers shows that contrary to what rock band AC/DC famously hypothesized in its 1980 classic song, rock and roll is noise pollution and can have a harmful effect on environmental systems.
Researchers in MSU鈥檚 Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture exposed ecosystems of lady beetles, aphids (small agricultural pests) and soybean plants to rock music, country music and more conventional urban sounds to test the effects of noise on an environment. As part of the experiment, ecosystems 鈥渟hook all night long鈥 to AC/DC鈥檚 鈥淏ack in Black鈥 album, repeated for two consecutive weeks. The album contains the band鈥檚 hit 鈥淩ock and Roll Ain鈥檛 Noise Pollution.鈥
The results of the study showed that when exposed to rock music and urban sounds, lady beetles became less effective predators, which resulted in higher aphid populations and lower biomass for soybean plants. The research was published this month in Ecology and Evolution. Brandon Barton, the paper鈥檚 lead author and avid AC/DC fan, said he was 鈥渢hunderstruck鈥 by the results.
鈥淚t was hard on us,鈥 Barton said. 鈥淲e hate to disagree with AC/DC. We don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 noise pollution, but the lady beetles do. That鈥檚 an important distinction.鈥
Barton, an assistant professor in MSU鈥檚 Department of Biological Sciences, explained that while AC/DC鈥檚 music is not a serious environmental threat, the study offers a 鈥減roof of concept鈥 that shows sound can alter one organism, which could then have effects on others.
鈥淲e did another experiment where we looked at the sounds of jackhammers, airplanes taking off and those sorts of things,鈥 Barton said. 鈥淭hat also reduced predation rates for the lady beetles. The volume of this is about the equivalent of a tractor on a farm, so it鈥檚 not something completely unrealistic. Farm noise could actually reduce the efficiency of natural predators at controlling pests. If that happens and the pests take off, you might have to spray more chemicals. So it could be a soundscape that鈥檚 influencing how many chemicals we have to use because it changes the efficiency of the predator.鈥
The experiment was designed in part to help recruit undergraduate students to Barton鈥檚 lab. However, he quickly learned that most students knew some of AC/DC鈥檚 songs through things like football games, but knew relatively little about the band. Mariah Hodge, a self-described country music fan, worked on the experiment as an undergraduate student and is the second author of the paper. Now a master鈥檚 student in biological sciences, the Russellville, Alabama native came to Mississippi State from Northwest Shoals Community College in Alabama.
鈥淚t鈥檚 cool to be able to do research as an undergrad that I could actually put forth a lot of effort into,鈥 Hodge said. 鈥淚 thought I wanted to be a veterinarian, which is why I came to Mississippi State. I realized I needed some experience before I went to vet school, so I decided to get involved in research and discovered once I joined the lab that I love biology in all aspects.鈥
As a master鈥檚 student, Hodge is studying the effects of mass mortality events on ecosystems with lady beetles and aphids. She plans to become a biology instructor after she graduates in December. Hodge notes that her preferred style of music had no detrimental effects on the ecosystem during the noise pollution experiment.
鈥淎C/DC is not something I listened to all the time,鈥 Hodge said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a big country music fan, so that鈥檚 why we decided to try country music. However, my music was not noise pollution. Maybe country music is the way to go.鈥
The researchers said it remains unclear why country music had less of an effect on the ecosystem than AC/DC and a playlist of rock music. Barton said most sound pollution studies focus on individual populations such as deer, but scientists know little about the way it affects insects and, in turn, the ecosystems they inhabit.
鈥淥bviously we鈥檙e having fun with this experiment and testing the AC/DC hypothesis, but really what we wanted to also show was that sound pollution or anthropogenic sound affecting one species can then effect multiple species in the food web,鈥 Barton said.
The paper is dedicated to AC/DC guitarist Malcom Young, who passed away while the manuscript was in progress. In addition to Barton and Hodge, the authors include current and former 草莓视频biological sciences students Cori J. Speights of Mexia, Texas, and Anna M. Autrey of Wetumpka, Alabama; biological sciences associate professor Vincent Klink; and Marcus Lashley, an assistant professor in MSU鈥檚 Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture.
草莓视频is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .
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Editor's Note:听Barton has written an article on this study for The Conversation, which can be re-published under a creative commons license. The piece is available at