Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering (AOP&E)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1912/10

The Department is a major center for research in fluid mechanics, coastal processes, ocean mixing, acoustics, air-sea interaction, deep submergence, ocean systems and moorings, remote sensing, robotics, certain biological processes, image processing, signal processing and estimation, control theory, and the dynamics of ocean cables.

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Browsing Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering (AOP&E) by Author "Apprill, Amy"
  • Article
    Soundscape enrichment increases larval settlement rates for the brooding coral Porites astreoides
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2024-03-13) Aoki, Nadege ; Weiss, Benjamin T. ; Jezequel, Youenn ; Zhang, Weifeng Gordon ; Apprill, Amy ; Mooney, T. Aran
    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 astreoides larvae were exposed to reef sounds using a custom solar-powered acoustic playback system. Porites astreoides settled 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.
  • Article
    Toward a new era of coral reef monitoring
    (American Chemical Society, 2023-03-17) Apprill, Amy ; Girdhar, Yogesh ; Mooney, T. Aran ; Hansel, Colleen M. ; Long, Matthew H. ; Liu, Yaqin ; Zhang, W. Gordon ; Kapit, Jason ; Hughen, Konrad ; Coogan, Jeff ; Greene, Austin
    Coral reefs host some of the highest concentrations of biodiversity and economic value in the oceans, yet these ecosystems are under threat due to climate change and other human impacts. Reef monitoring is routinely used to help prioritize reefs for conservation and evaluate the success of intervention efforts. Reef status and health are most frequently characterized using diver-based surveys, but the inherent limitations of these methods mean there is a growing need for advanced, standardized, and automated reef techniques that capture the complex nature of the ecosystem. Here we draw on experiences from our own interdisciplinary research programs to describe advances in in situ diver-based and autonomous reef monitoring. We present our vision for integrating interdisciplinary measurements for select “case-study” reefs worldwide and for learning patterns within the biological, physical, and chemical reef components and their interactions. Ultimately, these efforts could support the development of a scalable and standardized suite of sensors that capture and relay key data to assist in categorizing reef health. This framework has the potential to provide stakeholders with the information necessary to assess reef health during an unprecedented time of reef change as well as restoration and intervention activities.