Using acoustics to study biological activity in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia

The Perth Canyon, off the coast of Western Australia, is a hotspot for biological activity, high biomass and biodiversity. It is also an area that is still relatively understudied. In this study, combinations of passive and active acoustical methodologies were used to study biological activity in th...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hawkins, Lauren, McCauley, Robert, Parnum, Iain, Saunders, Ben
Format: Conference Paper
Published: 2016
Online Access:https://www.acoustics.asn.au/conference_proceedings/AASNZ2016/papers/p168.pdf
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6859
_version_ 1848745198805319680
author Hawkins, Lauren
McCauley, Robert
Parnum, Iain
Saunders, Ben
author_facet Hawkins, Lauren
McCauley, Robert
Parnum, Iain
Saunders, Ben
author_sort Hawkins, Lauren
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The Perth Canyon, off the coast of Western Australia, is a hotspot for biological activity, high biomass and biodiversity. It is also an area that is still relatively understudied. In this study, combinations of passive and active acoustical methodologies were used to study biological activity in the Canyon; and in particular, diel vertical migration. Data from sea noise loggers and Acoustical Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) mounted along the Perth Canyon were collected as part of the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) program. The sea noise data recorded post-sunset fish choruses and the backscatter logged by the ADCP deployments measured increased scattering in the upper layers of the waters between sunset and sunrise. These two types of data provide an insight into secondary productivity in the Perth Canyon. This study revealed a correlation between the fish chorus noise level and the increase in scattering in the water column. Future research is planned to determine the sources and the reason(s) for the temporal variation of these phenomena.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T06:13:33Z
format Conference Paper
id curtin-20.500.11937-6859
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T06:13:33Z
publishDate 2016
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-68592017-01-30T10:56:04Z Using acoustics to study biological activity in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia Hawkins, Lauren McCauley, Robert Parnum, Iain Saunders, Ben The Perth Canyon, off the coast of Western Australia, is a hotspot for biological activity, high biomass and biodiversity. It is also an area that is still relatively understudied. In this study, combinations of passive and active acoustical methodologies were used to study biological activity in the Canyon; and in particular, diel vertical migration. Data from sea noise loggers and Acoustical Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) mounted along the Perth Canyon were collected as part of the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) program. The sea noise data recorded post-sunset fish choruses and the backscatter logged by the ADCP deployments measured increased scattering in the upper layers of the waters between sunset and sunrise. These two types of data provide an insight into secondary productivity in the Perth Canyon. This study revealed a correlation between the fish chorus noise level and the increase in scattering in the water column. Future research is planned to determine the sources and the reason(s) for the temporal variation of these phenomena. 2016 Conference Paper http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6859 https://www.acoustics.asn.au/conference_proceedings/AASNZ2016/papers/p168.pdf restricted
spellingShingle Hawkins, Lauren
McCauley, Robert
Parnum, Iain
Saunders, Ben
Using acoustics to study biological activity in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia
title Using acoustics to study biological activity in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia
title_full Using acoustics to study biological activity in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia
title_fullStr Using acoustics to study biological activity in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia
title_full_unstemmed Using acoustics to study biological activity in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia
title_short Using acoustics to study biological activity in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia
title_sort using acoustics to study biological activity in the perth canyon, western australia
url https://www.acoustics.asn.au/conference_proceedings/AASNZ2016/papers/p168.pdf
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6859