In a strange scientific endeavor, a study was released which tests the influence of music on bugs. Testing the AC/DC hypothesis: Rock and roll is noise pollution and weakens a trophic cascade is the name of the study that came out in Ecology and Evolution. The scientists researched the effect of different types of music on ladybugs and their appetite. What they found was startling, and interestingly many of the songs they used are the same as what you would listen to when you go to play casino with winner.
Incidentally, one of the songs chosen by the scientists is AC/DC’s “Rock and roll ain’t noise pollution” which is proven wrong by the study. The researchers found that the ladybugs ate less when they were exposed to AC/DC songs in comparison to folk or country music. The researchers from Mississippi State University also played songs from heavy rock bands like Guns N Roses along with mechanical noises to mimic farm sounds to the ladybugs.
Rock Music Isn’t that Great, After All
Well, studies state that it’s not great for plants at least.
The two week trial revealed that the music of hard rock bands played at 24 hour loops decreased the appetite of the ladybugs and they ate fewer aphids. The aphids were growing on soybean plants and formed the daily diet of the ladybugs. The finding also had implications for the realm of pest control. Left uneaten by the ladybugs, the aphids were 40 times more likely to eat up the soybean plants hindering the natural process of pest control. As a result the plants were not able to achieve full growth and they became 25% smaller.
This proves that rock and roll music behaves like noise pollution to bugs and has a negative effect on plants. The researchers also had the same effect when they played urban noises at the same volume of the AC/DC songs which mimicked the firm noises of tractors and the like. The ladybugs and aphids had the same effect and shows that chaotic sound is not at all favorable to bugs and plants.
Ecologist Brandon T. Barton, who is a part of the study, said that farm noises could actually reduce the efficiency of natural predators and their ability to control pests. The result can be harmful as you would need to apply more chemicals in absence of the natural predators to control the pest. The sounds in a firm could determine the amount of chemicals that needed to be used because the efficiency of the predators are changed, said Barton. The study shows that human created noises are not so favorable for the ecosystem and other studies have also proved the same.
The next time you want to listen to rock music while playing your favorite casino games, you might just want to rethink. You would be better off listening to other kinds of music that might help you focus more.
