- The low-frequency mating call of the male midshipman fish may be behind the mysterious hum heard in Hythe, England, since August. Some residents say the sound is so bad that it keeps them up at night. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Residents of the southern England town of Hythe, Hampshire, have been complaining about a mysterious humming sound since August. One resident told the BBC that the hum is "a pulsing, vibrating sort of sound, like a turbine....It sounds ridiculous but it does keep you awake all night." The hum is so bad that some residents have to leave town at night if they want to get some decent sleep. No one knows exactly what's causing the hum, but one theory is that it's caused by male midshipman fish trying to attract a mate and intimidate other males.
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"It's not beyond the realms of possibility," Ben Wilson of the Scottish Association for Marine Science told the Telegraph. "There are certainly 'sonic fish' in the north Atlantic and the approaches to the English Channel."
The sound that midshipman fish make has a very low frequency and a long wavelength, and is able to resonate through the ground and the walls of homes. (Listen to the midshipman fish's amorous call here.) And because midshipman fish are nocturnal, sleep-deprived residents of Hythe are particularly unlucky.
Andy Bass, a Cornell Univeristy biologist who has made recordings of the fish, told NPR in 2009 about his experiences studying midshipman fish.
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Are fish having sex keeping part of a city awake? Amorous animals could be behind mystery humming that starts at 10pm and goes on all night
Residents in Hythe, Southampton, are being kept awake by the noise
Some have even moved away from the area and are staying with friends
Scientists are studying whether the noise could be caused by fish
Midshipman male fish are known to let out drone while searching for mate
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Amorous fish could be responsible for a mysterious humming noise keeping people awake at night.
Residents in a part of Southampton, Hamsphire, have been struggling to get to sleep because of the puzzling noise, which starts at 10pm and drones on all night.
Some people have even moved away from the affected area around Hythe and are sleeping on friends’ sofas to escape the nightmare.
Midshipman fish are believed to be responsible for a humming noise keeping residents in a part of Southampton awake at night
The sound heard on Southampton Water (pictured)
is said to be similar to the so-called West Seattle Hum which plagued
parts of the US city this time last year
Now scientists are studying whether the noise could be being caused by fish having sex in an estuary nearby.
Midshipman male fish let out a distinctive drone to let females know they are searching for a mate.
The noise can go on for hours and often increases in volume as competing males attempt to out-hum each other.
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