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1. Soundscape enrichment increases larval settlement rates for the brooding coral Porites astreoides

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231514  

   Aoki, Nadège; Weiss, Benjamin; Jézéquel, Youenn; Zhang, Weifeng Gordon; Apprill, Amy; Mooney, T Aran (March 2024, Royal Society Open Science)

   The_Royal_Society_Publishing (Ed.)

   Coral reefs, hubs of global biodiversity, are among the world’s most imperilled habitats. Healthy coral reefs are characterized by distinctive soundscapes; these environments are rich with sounds produced by fishes and marine invertebrates. Emerging evidence suggests these sounds can be used as orientation and settlement cues for larvae of reef animals. On degraded reefs, these cues may be reduced or absent, impeding the success of larval settlement, which is an essential process for the maintenance and replenishment of reef populations. Here, in a field-based study, we evaluated the effects of enriching the soundscape of a degraded coral reef to increase coral settlement rates.Porites astreoideslarvae were exposed to reef sounds using a custom solar-powered acoustic playback system.Porites astreoidessettled at significantly higher rates at the acoustically enriched sites, averaging 1.7 times (up to maximum of seven times) more settlement compared with control reef sites without acoustic enrichment. Settlement rates decreased with distance from the speaker but remained higher than control levels at least 30 m from the sound source. These results reveal that acoustic enrichment can facilitate coral larval settlement at reasonable distances, offering a promising new method for scientists, managers and restoration practitioners to rebuild coral reefs. 

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2. Ground-truthing daily and lunar patterns of coral reef fish call rates on a US Virgin Island reef

   https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00755  

   Ferguson, SR; Jensen, FH; Hyer, MD; Noble, A; Apprill, A; Mooney, TA (July 2022, Aquatic Biology)

   Coral reefs comprise some of the most biodiverse habitats on the planet. These ecosystems face a range of stressors, making quantifying community assemblages and potential changes vital to effective management. To understand short- and long-term changes in biodiversity and detect early warning signals of decline, new methods for quantifying biodiversity at scale are necessary. Acoustic monitoring techniques have proven useful in observing species activities and biodiversity on coral reefs through aggregate approaches (i.e. energy as a proxy). However, few studies have ground-truthed these acoustic analyses with human-based observations. In this study, we sought to expand these passive acoustic methods by investigating biological sounds and fish call rates on a healthy reef, providing a unique set of human-confirmed, labeled acoustic observations. We analyzed acoustic data from Tektite Reef, St. John, US Virgin Islands, over a 2 mo period. A subset of acoustic files was manually inspected to identify recurring biotic sounds and quantify reef activity throughout the day. We found a high variety of acoustic signals in this soundscape. General patterns of call rates across time conformed to expectations, with dusk and dawn showing important and significantly elevated peaks in soniferous fish activity. The data reflected high variability in call rates across days and lunar phases. Call rates did not correspond to sound pressure levels, suggesting that certain call types may drive crepuscular trends in sound levels while lower-level critical calls, likely key for estimating biodiversity and behavior, may be missed by gross sound level analyses. 

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3. Seabird-derived nutrients influence feeding pathways and body size in cryptobenthic reef fishes

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.0539  

   Jeannot, Laura-Li; Lozano-Peña, Juan Pablo; Zora, Anna; Brandl, Simon J; Graham, Nicholas AJ (July 2025, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)

   Cross-ecosystem nutrient transfer can enhance coral reef functioning in an otherwise oligotrophic environment. While the influence of seabird-derived nutrients on coral reef organisms is increasingly recognized, how they are integrated into reef food webs remains unclear. Cryptobenthic reef fishes are crucial for energy transfer on coral reefs, and their fast life histories imply that they respond strongly to seabird-derived nutrients. Here, we investigate how variation in nearshore seabird nutrient subsidies affects coral reef fish communities. By comparing fish communities across locations differing in seabird nutrient inputs and using stable isotope analysis, we explore nutrient integration across depth, their influence on cryptobenthic and associated larger reef fishes and investigated the relative reliance of cryptobenthic fishes on seabird-enriched benthic and non-enriched pelagic pathways. We find that, near seabird colonies, cryptobenthic fishes’ diets can transition from pelagic to benthic dominance; cryptobenthic fish communities are larger; herbivores and all feeding groups comprising potential cryptobenthic fish predators have higher biomass. Collectively, our results stress the importance of seabirds in shaping energy pathways and suggest that, even in dynamic, ocean-swept reef systems, cryptobenthic fishes can mobilize seabird subsidies and potentially act as a nutritional bridge to higher trophic levels. 

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4. Sounds of a changing sea: Temperature drives acoustic output by dominant biological sound-producers in shallow water habitats

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.960881  

   Lillis, Ashlee; Mooney, T. Aran (August 2022, Frontiers in Marine Science)

   The ocean’s soundscape is fundamental to marine ecosystems, not only as a source of sensory information critical to many ecological processes but also as an indicator of biodiversity and habitat health. Yet, little is known about how ecoacoustic activity in marine habitats is altered by environmental changes such as temperature. The sounds produced by dense colonies of snapping shrimp dominate temperate and tropical coastal soundscapes worldwide and are a major driver broadband sound pressure level (SPL) patterns. Field recordings of soundscape patterns from the range limit of a snapping shrimp distribution showed that rates of snap production and associated SPL were closely positively correlated to water temperature. Snap rates changed by 15-60% per °C change in regional temperature, accompanied by fluctuations in SPL between 1-2 dB per °C. To test if this relationship was due to a direct effect of temperature, we measured snap rates in controlled experiments using two snapping shrimp species dominant in the Western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico ( Alpheus heterochaelis and A. angulosus ). Snap rates were measured for shrimp held at different temperatures (across 10-30 °C range, with upper limit 2°C above current summer mean temperatures) and under different social groupings. Temperature had a significant effect on shrimp snap rates for all social contexts tested (individuals, pairs, and groups). For individuals and shrimp groups, snap production more than doubled between mid-range (20°C) and high (30°C) temperature treatments. Given that snapping shrimp sounds dominate the soundscapes of diverse habitats, including coral reefs, rocky bottoms, seagrass, and oyster beds, the strong influence of temperature on their activity will potentially alter soundscape patterns broadly. Increases in ambient sound levels driven by elevated water temperatures has ecological implications for signal detection, communication, and navigation in key coastal ecosystems for a wide range of organisms, including humans. 

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5. Replayed reef sounds induce settlement of Favia fragum coral larvae in aquaria and field environments

   https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0032407  

   Aoki, Nadège; Weiss, Benjamin; Jézéquel, Youenn; Apprill, Amy; Mooney, T_Aran (October 2024, JASA Express Letters)

   Acoustic cues of healthy reefs are known to support critical settlement behaviors for one reef-building coral, but acoustic responses have not been demonstrated in additional species. Settlement of Favia fragum larvae in response to replayed coral reef soundscapes were observed by exposing larvae in aquaria and reef settings to playback sound treatments for 24–72 h. Settlement increased under 24 h sound treatments in both experiments. The results add to growing knowledge that acoustically mediated settlement may be widespread among stony corals with species-specific attributes, suggesting sound could be one tool employed to rehabilitate and build resilience within imperiled reef communities. 

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