January 1, 2024
With historical insight and contemporary science, award-winning writer Kingdon details how the sonic array of the sea sings in ways humans cannot hear. Yet, deaf to the sounds, humans disturb it with a dangerous cacophony of their own. With dozens of line-drawings by the author. Look for the audio edition with sound recordings from the sea. Prepub Alert.
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Starred review from April 8, 2024
“The ocean is not and has never been a silent place,” according to this exquisite debut inquiry. Exploring how noise shapes marine life, science writer Kingdon cites studies that found every dolphin develops a unique whistling call to identify itself to others and that frillfin goby fish grunt to coordinate their mating ritual. Some marine mammals can echolocate, Kingdon explains, noting that belugas emit clicks to lock onto prey while hunting, and that dolphins use the noises to gain information about the thickness and material of nearby surfaces. Delving into the anatomy of underwater hearing, Kingdon expounds on how fish ears have hair cells, moved by vibration, that brush against small organs called otoliths, generating nerve impulses to the brain. Kingdon’s descriptions are as edifying as they are evocative, as when she writes of her attempts to record the hubbub of Cape Cod’s Bass River: “The cusk-eel chorus rises highest, each voice chattering over another, accompanied by a gentle chorus of toadfish boops, layered like synthesizer notes.” Nature enthusiasts will be troubled by her discussion of how shipping, sonar, and powerful undersea air guns used to search for oil and gas reserves are dramatically disrupting marine life. This will open readers’ eyes, and ears, to a heretofore hidden world. Agent: Gillian MacKenzie, Gillian MacKenzie Agency.
October 21, 2024
Award-winning science journalist Kingdon states, "The ocean is never truly silent." The author goes on to discuss how marine life forms, from coral to whales, communicate as they migrate, reproduce, feed, and hunt. She also describes how the technology used to observe and understand these "conversations" has evolved from oscillators in the early twentieth century to the powerful recording and detection programs in use today. Kingdon also writes about how increasing and unregulated noise pollution from myriad human activities is disrupting marine communications systems, particularly those having to do with feeding and reproduction. The racket is brutally damaging and endangering marine life communities. Kingdon concludes on a hopeful note by chronicling several movements working to control ocean noise pollution.
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