Whoops and grunts: ‘bizarre’ fish songs raise hopes for coral reef recovery
Type
News Clipping
Authors
Category
Article
[ Browse Items ]
Publication Year
2021
Publisher
The Guardian, United Kingdom
URL
[ private ]
Abstract
Vibrant soundscape shows Indonesian reef devastated by blast fishing is returning to health
From whoops to purrs, snaps to grunts, and foghorns to laughs, a cacophony of bizarre fish songs have shown that a coral reef in Indonesia has returned rapidly to health.
Many of the noises had never been recorded before and the fish making these calls remain mysterious, despite the use of underwater speakers to try to “talk” to some.
The reef had been devastated by blast fishing, where explosives are used to stun or kill everything in the area. The corals are now being restored, but the scientists wanted to know if the many other creatures that inhabit reefs were also returning.
Visual surveys miss camouflaged animals and those that come out only at night, so the researchers turned to the noise of the reef. They found the vibrant soundscape was close to those of reefs that had never been damaged.
Sound is vital for reef survival, because almost all of its inhabitants, from corals to crustaceans to fish, produce offspring that spend the early part of their lives in the open oceans, before using sound and other cues as a homing beacon to return...
From whoops to purrs, snaps to grunts, and foghorns to laughs, a cacophony of bizarre fish songs have shown that a coral reef in Indonesia has returned rapidly to health.
Many of the noises had never been recorded before and the fish making these calls remain mysterious, despite the use of underwater speakers to try to “talk” to some.
The reef had been devastated by blast fishing, where explosives are used to stun or kill everything in the area. The corals are now being restored, but the scientists wanted to know if the many other creatures that inhabit reefs were also returning.
Visual surveys miss camouflaged animals and those that come out only at night, so the researchers turned to the noise of the reef. They found the vibrant soundscape was close to those of reefs that had never been damaged.
Sound is vital for reef survival, because almost all of its inhabitants, from corals to crustaceans to fish, produce offspring that spend the early part of their lives in the open oceans, before using sound and other cues as a homing beacon to return...
Description
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/08/whoops-and-grunts-bizarre-fish-songs-raise-hopes-for-coral-reef-recovery
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