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This content will become publicly available on November 1, 2026

Title: Sound properties and shallow water propagation for acoustic enrichment in coral reefs
Acoustic enrichment can facilitate coral and fish larval settlement, offering a promising method to rebuild degraded reefs. Yet it is critical to understand sound propagation in complex shallow-water coral reefs to effectively apply this method over large restoration-scale areas. In this field-based study, we quantified propagation features of multiple sound types emitted through a custom playback system over varying coral reef habitat. Sound levels were computed at different distances from the source in both pressure and particle motion, the latter being detected by marine invertebrates. Detection distances were primarily determined by source levels, and depth-dependent transmission losses. Transmission losses and detection distances were similar for sound pressure and particle acceleration measurements. Importantly, broadband particle acceleration levels could be closely estimated at distances >10 m using a single hydrophone and a plane wave approximation. Using empirically determined coral larvae sound detection thresholds, we found that low frequency sounds (<1 kHz) such as fish calls from healthy coral reef soundscapes may be detectable by larvae hundreds of meters away. These results provide key data to help design standardized methods and protocols for scientists, managers and restoration practitioners aiming to rebuild coral reef ecosystems over reasonably large spatial scales using acoustic enrichment.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2318921
PAR ID:
10652113
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
American Inst of Physics
Date Published:
Journal Name:
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Volume:
158
Issue:
5
ISSN:
1520-8524
Page Range / eLocation ID:
4174 to 4186
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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