Soundscape enrichment increases larval settlement rates for the brooding coral Porites astreoides
Soundscape enrichment increases larval settlement rates for the brooding coral Porites astreoides
Date
2024-03-13
Authors
Aoki, Nadege
Weiss, Benjamin T.
Jezequel, Youenn
Zhang, Weifeng Gordon
Apprill, Amy
Mooney, T. Aran
Weiss, Benjamin T.
Jezequel, Youenn
Zhang, Weifeng Gordon
Apprill, Amy
Mooney, T. Aran
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Person
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DOI
10.1098/rsos.231514
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Keywords
Acoustic playback
Coral reefs
Recruitment
Restoration
Marine invertebrates
Hearing
Coral reefs
Recruitment
Restoration
Marine invertebrates
Hearing
Abstract
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.
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© The Author(s), 2024. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Aoki, N., Weiss, B., Jézéquel, Y., Zhang, W. G., Apprill, A., & Mooney, T. A. (2024). Soundscape enrichment increases larval settlement rates for the brooding coral Porites astreoides. Royal Society Open Science, 11(3), 231514, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231514.
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Aoki, N., Weiss, B., Jézéquel, Y., Zhang, W. G., Apprill, A., & Mooney, T. A. (2024). Soundscape enrichment increases larval settlement rates for the brooding coral Porites astreoides. Royal Society Open Science, 11(3), 231514.