On the attraction of larval fishes to reef sounds

TLDR

Recent studies show that some larval fishes approach underwater speakers broadcasting reef noise, suggesting they use acoustic cues to locate reefs for settlement. This study evaluates larval fish hearing sensitivity relative to reef ambient sound levels to estimate detection distances and stresses the need for independent measurements of particle motion and acoustic pressure to guide future research. The authors calculated reef sound particle velocity from acoustic pressure measurements on and off shore, assuming planar wave propagation, to estimate the maximum orientation distance. Measurements reveal that larval fish have poor acoustic sensitivity to sound pressure, indicating particle motion is the primary stimulus, and calculations suggest they cannot detect reef particle motion beyond about 1 km in unbounded habitats. © 2007 Inter‑Research.

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 338:307-310 (2007) - doi:10.3354/meps338307 On the attraction of larval fishes to reef sounds David A. Mann1,*, Brandon M. Casper1, Kelly S. Boyle2, Timothy C. Tricas2 1College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140 Seventh Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5016, USA 2Department of Zoology and Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2538 The Mall, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA *Email: [e-mail] ABSTRACT: Several recent studies have shown that some larval fishes will approach underwater speakers that broadcast reef noise, leading to the hypothesis that larval fishes use acoustic cues to locate reefs for settlement. The purpose of the present study was to examine existing hearing data of fishes in relation to ambient sound levels around reefs to estimate the distance over which reef fish might detect reefs sounds, and to highlight how future data should be collected to answer this important question. The few available measurements of larval fish hearing indicate that they have poor acoustic sensitivity relative to sound levels found around reefs. The apparent poor sensitivity of larval fishes to sound pressure suggests that particle motion, the back and forth motion of water that is associated with acoustic pressure, is the principal stimulus for larval fish hearing. To estimate the maximum distance of orientation to reefs, the acoustic particle velocity of reef sound was calculated from measurements of the acoustic pressure on and away from shore, assuming conditions of a planar propagating wave. Based on these calculations, we propose that larval fishes in acoustically unbounded habitats most probably cannot detect the ambient noise of particle motion at distances >1 km. To better understand the distances over which larval fishes can detect sounds from reefs, more studies on larval fish hearing and reef noise are needed. Larval fish hearing measurements need to independently distinguish sensitivities to particle motion and acoustic pressure. Likewise, independent measurements of particle motion around reefs are required. KEY WORDS: Larval fish · Hearing · Ambient noise · Underwater acoustics · Sound Full text in pdf format PreviousExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 338. Online publication date: May 24, 2007 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2007 Inter-Research.