By "adjust" she means simplify, as anyone might do to try to relay a message when there's a lot of ambient noise. In a 2018 study on the subject led by Bailey, the researchers recorded underwater noise caused mainly by boat traffic in the western North Atlantic up to 130 decibels, on par with a busy highway. If dolphins are regularly trying to communicate with such interference, it's safe to assume a lot gets lost in translation. By "adjust" she means simplify, as anyone might do to try to relay a message when there's a lot of ambient noise. In a 2018 study on the subject led by Bailey, the researchers recorded underwater noise caused mainly by boat traffic in the western North Atlantic up to 130 decibels, on par with a busy highway. If dolphins are regularly trying to communicate with such interference, it's safe to assume a lot gets lost in translation.