Soundscape diversity in the Great Barrier Reef: Lizard Island, a case study

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Passive acoustic monitoring can provide valuable information on coral reefs, and examining the acoustic attributes of these ecosystems has the potential to provide an insight into their status and condition. From 2014 to 2016, a seri...

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Main Authors: McWilliam, J., McCauley, Robert, Erbe, Christine, Parsons, Miles
Format: Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/55894
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author McWilliam, J.
McCauley, Robert
Erbe, Christine
Parsons, Miles
author_facet McWilliam, J.
McCauley, Robert
Erbe, Christine
Parsons, Miles
author_sort McWilliam, J.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Passive acoustic monitoring can provide valuable information on coral reefs, and examining the acoustic attributes of these ecosystems has the potential to provide an insight into their status and condition. From 2014 to 2016, a series of underwater recordings were taken at field sites around Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Six individual fish choruses were identified where each chorus displayed distinct acoustic characteristics. Choruses exhibited diurnal activity and some field sites displayed consistently higher diversity of choruses and levels than others, suggesting that particular locations are important aggregation areas for soniferous fish species. During peak activity, choruses were a prominent component of reef soundscapes, where received levels of a chorus reached upwards of 120 dB re 1µPa rms over the 450–650 Hz band, equating to a 40 dB increase above ambient noise levels of ˜80 dB re 1µPa rms. Three out of the six detected choruses exhibited spectral and temporal characteristics similar to choruses previously documented at these sites and elsewhere, produced by planktivorous fish species. Three of these choruses appear to be undocumented and could hold information on the presence, abundance and dispersal patterns of important fish species, which may have potential long-term management applications. Future research should focus on extricating the temporal patterns associated with bioacoustic activity and determining the potential environmental drivers of biological choruses. Additionally, developing appropriate techniques for direct identification of vocalizing species would strongly increase the management applicability of passive acoustic monitoring.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-558942017-09-13T16:10:28Z Soundscape diversity in the Great Barrier Reef: Lizard Island, a case study McWilliam, J. McCauley, Robert Erbe, Christine Parsons, Miles © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Passive acoustic monitoring can provide valuable information on coral reefs, and examining the acoustic attributes of these ecosystems has the potential to provide an insight into their status and condition. From 2014 to 2016, a series of underwater recordings were taken at field sites around Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Six individual fish choruses were identified where each chorus displayed distinct acoustic characteristics. Choruses exhibited diurnal activity and some field sites displayed consistently higher diversity of choruses and levels than others, suggesting that particular locations are important aggregation areas for soniferous fish species. During peak activity, choruses were a prominent component of reef soundscapes, where received levels of a chorus reached upwards of 120 dB re 1µPa rms over the 450–650 Hz band, equating to a 40 dB increase above ambient noise levels of ˜80 dB re 1µPa rms. Three out of the six detected choruses exhibited spectral and temporal characteristics similar to choruses previously documented at these sites and elsewhere, produced by planktivorous fish species. Three of these choruses appear to be undocumented and could hold information on the presence, abundance and dispersal patterns of important fish species, which may have potential long-term management applications. Future research should focus on extricating the temporal patterns associated with bioacoustic activity and determining the potential environmental drivers of biological choruses. Additionally, developing appropriate techniques for direct identification of vocalizing species would strongly increase the management applicability of passive acoustic monitoring. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/55894 10.1080/09524622.2017.1344930 Taylor & Francis restricted
spellingShingle McWilliam, J.
McCauley, Robert
Erbe, Christine
Parsons, Miles
Soundscape diversity in the Great Barrier Reef: Lizard Island, a case study
title Soundscape diversity in the Great Barrier Reef: Lizard Island, a case study
title_full Soundscape diversity in the Great Barrier Reef: Lizard Island, a case study
title_fullStr Soundscape diversity in the Great Barrier Reef: Lizard Island, a case study
title_full_unstemmed Soundscape diversity in the Great Barrier Reef: Lizard Island, a case study
title_short Soundscape diversity in the Great Barrier Reef: Lizard Island, a case study
title_sort soundscape diversity in the great barrier reef: lizard island, a case study
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/55894