Fish Noise
Ambient sounds and intra-/inter-species communication are important to fish and invertebrate survival. For many marine animals, sound plays a key role in navigation, finding food and mates, and avoiding predators. We are interested in how key sound-producing species fit into the broader biological soundscape across different habitats and how they are affected by human-made noise. We aim to improve the understanding of fish and invertebrate ecology and help inform conservation and management decisions.
How can passive acoustic monitoring help?
Passive acoustic monitoring in the aquatic environment refers to the use of underwater microphones (e.g., hydrophones) to detect and monitor biotic and abiotic sounds in the ocean. This type of monitoring can serve as a useful, non-extractive, and cost-effective tool that complements traditional survey methods (e.g., aerial, visual, trawl, telemetry). Recording devices such as marine autonomous recording units and SoundTraps can be deployed for months at a time. They gather data in conditions that would otherwise limit survey effort. The data gathered from these recorders provides scientists with information on the acoustic presence of a species of interest with known species-specific signals. Arrays of recorders can allow data to be gathered that track the spatial presence of a species and possibly fine-scale movements.